Glowing Star
by Aerith The Evenstar
Summary: This is my first Gundam Wing story. Estelle is an anime fan and ends up meeting a boy that likes to cosplay. They become friends, but is there more to him than what he lets on? Better than it sounds.
1. Chapter 1

ATE: Personally, I never thought I would write a story for Gundam Wing, but after reading a ton of stories in that category I couldn't resist it so I had to write this. This is my first time writing a story for Gundam Wing and it's been awhile since I've watched it (the last time being when it aired on Toonami, which was years ago), but I've managed to get myself a copy of the movie Endless Waltz to watch and a place to watch the anime online, but that's all I'll say when it comes to the anime. I hope everyone enjoys this story that I wrote.

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything related to it. I only own Estelle and any other people you don't recognize being from the anime or manga.

Below is the info on my OC Estelle since I didn't feel like mentioning what she looks like in the first chap.

_Estelle Lumina Brooks_  
_Age: 16_  
_Height: 5'3_  
_Eye color: olive green_  
_Hair color/length: light ash brown/comes down to her shoulder blades_

**(*) IMPORTANT UPDATE: After much thought and discussion with my friend and I Chrys I, I have decided to change Estelle's name to Rhea. This is a far warning to those new to this story and/or have been read it so far.**

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**Glowing Star**

Chapter 1

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to the park, my face stained with tears that had started to dry up not too long ago. By the time I made it to the park I was hunched over as I was out of breath from running so hard, causing some strands of my hair to get in my face. I stayed like that for awhile before I lifted my head to look for somewhere to rest and spotted a wooden park bench nearby. I slowly made my way over to it and slumped down on it tiredly, immediately feeling a tiny bit of relief to my sore legs. Scratch that! Every part of me felt sore, but that was the consequence for running like I did. But despite feeling so sore I reached my right hand into the right pocket of my jacket and pulled out what I had inside it. I looked down at the four pieces of what used to be a single sheet of notebook paper in my hand. It had been a drawing I made of the five pilots Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Wufei Chang from 'Gundam Wing' before it ended up in the condition it was currently in. I felt fresh tears fall from my eyes as I remembered what happened earlier.

_**(~*~Earlier~*~) **_

_**I was so glad that today was the last day of school with summer vacation starting tomorrow. As soon as the bell went off I went directly to my locker, opening it before putting all my stuff inside my backpack (we had already returned our text books to our teachers at the beginning of each class so we didn't have to worry about those). My friend Stacy was right next to me doing the same thing to the stuff in her locker as I was.**_

"_**Are you excited about this summer?" She asked me, giving me a bright smile.**_

"_**You bet!" I told her. "I so glad I'll be able to sleep in for once instead of doing so on weekends."**_

_**This caused Stacy to laugh humorously.**_

"_**Oh, Rhea! Why am I not surprised about that? You're not really a morning person."**_

"_**What can I say? I like my sleep."**_

_**We both laughed.**_

"_**Anyways, how's that drawing you've been working on coming along?"**_

"_**I've just finished it last period." I said, pulling out the drawing we were talking about. "Take a look."**_

_**I handed the drawing to Stacy and I watched as her gaze moved across the paper.**_

"_**This is really good. This has got to be your best drawing so far." She said as she handed it back to me.**_

"_**Really?"**_

"_**Yup!" **_

_**Before I had a chance to fold the drawing was snatched out of my hand and I turned to the person who did it, only to narrow my eyes when I saw my drawing in the hands of Claire (the school Prep), who was surrounded by her preppy followers. She gave me her devious smirk and making herself appear so 'high and mighty'.**_

"_**Well, well, well! If it isn't Loser 1 and Loser 2!" She said before taking a look at my drawing. "Another one of your drawings, Loser 1?"**_

"_**Give it back!" I growled.**_

"_**Why? It's obvious that you like these silly little cartoons. Aren't you a little old to be watching cartoons?"**_

"_**It's called anime, and no I'm not! Now give me my drawing back!"**_

"_**Oh! I'm so sorry!" She said sarcastically. "Here, you can have your drawing back."**_

_**Claire held my drawing out to me and I reached my hand out to get it, but at the last second it was jerked away from me and Claire and her followers laughed at me, causing me to get angry. My anger was short lived and my eyes widened in shock when she ripped my drawing into four pieces before throwing them into the air. I felt tears well up in my eyes and the preps laughed at me like hyenas as I picked up the four pieces of my drawing. Without thinking I bolted out of the school with the pieces of my torn up drawing as I continued to cry, leaving my backpack behind with Stacy.**_

'_I worked so hard on it, too…_' I thought sadly as the tears continued to fall. I hung my head. '_It took me days just to get it to look like this…_'

"Are you okay?"

I lifted my head before turning my head in the direction the voice came from and spotted a boy who appeared to be the same age as me sitting next to me on the bench with a concern look on his face, which his cobalt blue eyes reflected as well. The outfit he wore was that of the appearance of a priest's black outfit with the sleeves of both the black shirt and white turtle neck rolled all the way up to above his elbows. But what took me by surprise was the thick three foot long braid he wore his brown hair in that caused my eyes to widen slightly. Overall, he looked like he was trying to cosplay as Duo Maxwell, or at least that's what I assumed, but he managed to pull it off as if it was natural for him.

"Wha…?" Was my intelligent answer.

"I asked if you where okay." He told me. "You looked pretty upset when I saw you so I was curious."

"Well, you know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back." He grinned as he said this and I found myself doing the same, albeit a smaller one than his. "So are you going to tell me?"

At this my smile was wiped off my face as I turned away from him and let my head hang. He made a noise that sounded as if he realized his mistake and what he said next was more evidence to that fact.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"

"Maybe I should tell you." I said. "I might feel better if I did."

"That's completely up to you. Start anytime you want to."

I went over what happened today in my head as I thought of how to tell him what happened before speaking.

"Today was the last day of school for us and both me and my friend Stacy were really excited about summer vacation. It was while we were packing our backpacks that she asked about the drawing I had been working on and I showed it to her. But then Claire, being prep and total bitch that she is, decided to snatch it away and rip it to pieces. I left the school and here I am having a conversation with a stranger."

"So those pieces of paper are your drawing?" He asked.

"At least what remains of it." I stated, looking down at the pieces in my hand.

"Can I see it?"

"Yeah."

I looked up as I handed him the four pieces of paper that had been my drawing and watched as he placed them together on his lap like it were a puzzle. As he stared at my drawing I thought I saw something flash in his blue eyes, but as quickly as it came it disappeared, leaving me confused and curious. Maybe it was my imagination. After he was done looking at my drawing he piled the pieces together before handing it back to me with a smile.

"It's really good. I'm guessing you're a fan of anime?"

"I sure am." I said. "I'm assuming you are as well since you're cosplaying as this guy here." I pointed to the drawing of Duo I made that was on one of the pieces of paper.

"I guess you could say that…" I almost missed the nervousness in his voice since it was barely noticeable.

"You do realize that the last anime convention was three months ago."

"I knew that!" He said, giving me a grin as he scratched the back of his head with his hand before chuckling. "Guess I'm a little behind on the times."

'_A little?_' I thought.

"So it would seem." I smiled again, feeling better that I told him what happened. "I'm Rhea Brooks. What's yours?"

"Who me?"

"No, the person behind you." I said sarcastically. "Of course I mean you."

"Well, if you really wanna know, the name's Duo Maxwell."

I stared at him like he was crazy. He must've seen the look on my face since he had a confused expression on his face.

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "Were you're parents cruel when they were naming you? Or is it a nickname that you gave yourself?"

"No, no, and sorta." He said.

"Huh?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"I answered your questions. Is there a problem?"

"No. But what did you mean by 'sorta'?"

"Now that's a secret." He smirked.

I giggled a bit and I watched as Duo's smirked turned into a grin.

"AHA! I finally made you laugh! Mission accomplished!"

"I can see why you call yourself Duo Maxwell. You really do act like him." I told him.

"What can I say? That I'm a natural or that I'm just being me?"

"How about both?" I looked at my watch and saw that the time was 5:30. "I gotta go now. Mom's probably wondering where I am."

I pocketed the pieces of my drawing in my jacket before standing up from the wooden park bench I had been sitting on since I got here, but I was surprised when Duo got up as well. Standing up to his full height I noticed that he must've been taller than me by an inch or two. He looked at me and grinned.

"May I have the honor of escorting the fair maiden to her home?" He asked

I couldn't help but feel my face heat up when he referred to me as the 'fair maiden'. I knew I felt somewhat embarrassed by being called that, but for some reason I found myself liking the fact that he called me that.

"You may." I said with a smile.

"Great! Lead the way…" He came to stand right next to me. "…fair maiden."

My face heated up again as I started walking back home with Duo. Apparently, he must like making me blush since he called me 'fair maiden' again. Despite having just met him I found myself enjoying his company as we walked together, talking and laughing as if we've been friends for years instead of just two hours. After some time I saw that we just walked into the neighborhood that I lived in and knew that we were almost to my home, but for some reason I started to feel a little…disappointed. Did I really like being around my new friend that I didn't want him to leave yet?

"You know that drawing you showed me earlier, right?" Duo asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" I looked at him.

"I was wondering…which character in it is your favorite?"

"Well…" I looked down at the sidewalk we were walking on as my face heated up. I eventually had the courage to look back up to his face. "…out of those five characters my favorite happens to be Duo. I find him to be easy to relate to, personality wise. Even if his happy, charming, relaxed, and laid-back personality is a mask he wears, I still think that he's an overall good person."

I thought I saw something flash in his eyes again from what I said, but like before it was gone as soon as it came. That must've been the second time I've seen it, but maybe I was imagining it for some reason. Strange…

"So that's your favorite character and what you think of him?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Duo said, placing his hands behind his head.

After a few minutes I spotted my home and my disappointment return since I knew what came next.

"Well, this is my home." I said. "Thanks for walking back with me."

"No problem! It's the least I could do." He told me.

"I'm really glad I met you today. I really enjoyed talking to you." I felt like I was saying goodbye to a close friend for the last time. "Will I…see you again?"

"Depends. Maybe you will, maybe you won't. You never know." He said this with a grin the whole time. "One more thing I need to do before I go."

At first I was didn't know what he meant when he said that but then he pecked my cheek, leaving me confused and speechless as he pulled away with a grin still on his face. I felt my face heat up and Duo's grin widened when he saw this.

"See ya!"

I stood where I was as I watched his retreating form running in the direction we came from earlier. I lifted my hand up to touch the place he kissed me with my fingertips and my face got warmer as my mind registered what happened. He. Kissed. Me. I was dazed from that thought that I was barely aware of walking into my home until I heard Mom talking to me.

"How was your day, Rhea?" She asked me.

"It was okay." I told her, coming to sit in one of the chair at the table.

"Stacy came by earlier and dropped off your backpack. She told me what happened today and how you ran off without it." I could hear the concern in Mom's voice. I loved my Mom since she could be so understanding. She was quite the sympathizer. "Are you feeling okay after what happened?"

"At first I wasn't, but then I talked about it to someone and it made me feel better."

"What happened after you left the school?" Mom sat in a nearby chair at the table with me.

"I ran off to the park and cried, but then I met a boy around my age who asked me what was wrong. He's the same person I mention and I told him what happen at school. We talked the whole time we were there and he was able to cheer me up. When I had to leave he offered to walk me back here."

"I'm glad you were able to make a new friend. Would you like me to get you some dinner?"

"Yes, please." I answered.

After dinner I had gone up to my room and got myself ready for bed. I was currently sitting on my bed wearing my Pjs my mind continued to repeat what had happened before Duo left. I touched my cheek again and blushed. I was still surprised from when he kissed me, even if it was quick. I found myself hoping that I would see him again, but then I felt the doubt about that happening.

"I hope I see him again." I said to myself.

* * *

ATE: That's it for chap. 1. I hope everyone like this so far. I don't think anyone will have to guess as to the boy Rhea met is, but I'm not saying anything. As for what Stacy, Claire, and Rhea's Mom look like I decided to leave that up to the readers to imagine. Please remember to review so I can know what you all think of this. :)


	2. Chapter 2

ATE: Surprisingly this chap took the whole day to write and I've finally got it finished and posting it up at 12:31am right now. Not to mention it took awhile on planing how this would write out. I want to thank Marimelb for their review AND for being the first to review this story all together. If you're reading this Marimelb, I hope you enjoy this chap, along with anyone else who's reading this story.

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, the OST (soundtrack), the song 'Good Luck & Goodbye', Daily Grind, the song 'Bannana Phone'. I only own Rhea.

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Chapter 2

You know those days when you're forced awake by your alarm clock blaring at 6:30 in the morning for school and you feel like not going to school so you can sleep in? But when it comes to being off of school on a holiday like Christmas break and when you try to sleep in you end up waking up at 6:30 or an hour or two later not feeling the least bit tired? That's how it felt for me right now as I found myself waking up at 8:30 in the morning. As much as I wanted to sleep in my mind wouldn't let me. It was as if it was yelling at me like a drill sergeant while saying "Get up, maggot!" Grudgingly, I got myself out of bed, picking up some clean clothes and undergarments before going into my bathroom to take a quick shower.

While I was washing my hair with lavender scented shampoo I couldn't help but think about yesterday and wondered if it had really happened. It seemed liked it was a dream, but maybe that was because I was starting to wake up. It's always like that when I'm half asleep. It was like the time when I woke up in the middle of the night and in my half asleep state I had thought my ceiling fan had been a giant spider and I had said "Oh…my…god…!" before screaming. Mom ran into my room when she heard me and had asked me what was wrong, but all I did was point to my ceiling fan saying that it was a giant spider. I remember coming down to the kitchen the next morning for breakfast and asked Mom if I had said my ceiling fan was a giant spider (since I wasn't sure if it had been a dream or if it really happened), which she confirmed to me. I find myself laughing at myself sometimes when I think back on it. Story aside and all, I still wondered about Duo.

After I was done with my shower I dried off before getting my clean clothes on. The clothes I wore consisted of a pair of blue jeans, a light blue tank top, and a white long sleeve jacket that looked like a button up dress shirt that came down to the middle of my thighs and only button up the fourth button down from the collar button.

Then there came the next part, brushing my hair (which I knew would be tangled from sleeping and being wet). That's why I always brushed my hair before getting in the shower but I blame being somewhat half asleep for forgetting to do so before getting in the shower. After a few minutes of brushing my hair it was free of tangles and once I was done I did the rest of the morning stuff before leaving my bathroom and room. Now, I bet you noticed that I didn't dry my hair at all and you're wondering if I forgot to do it? I didn't forget. Thing is that I like to let my hair air dry by itself. I really didn't care if I got a cold because of not drying my hair. I came into the kitchen where Mom was and she smiled when she saw me.

"Good morning, Rhea. Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"I did. I tried to sleep in, but my mind had other plans for me today." I told her.

She laughed at what I said.

"I planning on going out today. Is there anything you'd want me to get while I'm gone?" I asked, sitting myself down at the table.

"There's only one thing I can think of and that would been some more coffee beans. Would you mind stopping by Daily Grind to buy some?" Mom came over and sent our plates down so we could both eat breakfast.

"I wouldn't mind. Is there a specific flavor you want?" I took a bit of the eggs on my plate.

"How about you surprise me. I'll give you some money to pay for it and if you want to get something to drink while you're there."

"Okay. I'll be taking my cell phone with me if you need me."

Once plans were set and breakfast was eaten I grabbed my cell phone, iPod, wallet, and the money Mom gave me before leaving the house. I stood outside the door so I could place the ear buds of my iPod in my ears before turning it on. I selected the song 'Good Luck & Goodbye' from the 'Gundam W Operation 2' soundtrack and listened to it as I walked away from my home.

_**EVERYBODY, NICE! EVERYBODY, NICE!  
**__**Ashita no kagayaki wo shinjite 'ru  
**__**EVERYBODY, CHANCE! EVERYBODY, CHANCE!  
**__**Kono te ni tsukamaeyou CARRY ON! **_

I liked this song and it was one of my favorites from the Gundam Wing soundtracks.

_**Kata wo butsuke surechigau  
**__**Ni-do to aenai ore-tachi  
**__**Jibun katte na yarikata de  
**__**Asu wo sagasou **_

_**Itsu ka aeru sa  
**__**Omae ga sagashite iru yume ni  
**__**Kaze ni sakaratte toozakaru sono senaka ni  
**__**GOOD LUCK & GOOD BYE **_

_**EVERYBODY, NICE! EVERYBODY, NICE!  
**__**Deai to wakare dake kurikaesu  
**__**EVERYBODY, CHANCE! EVERYBODY, CHANCE!  
**__**Kotae wo mitsukeru made CARRY ON! **_

I was now walking into town and making my way through the crowd of people as they went on went through their busy lives, be it going from place to place or their jobs. Despite listening to my iPod I could still hear the sounds of the cars driving and people talking, along with any other sounds you would hear in a busy town.

_**Kizutsuku nante yowa-sugiru  
**__**Kitsuku kuchibiru kamishime  
**__**Aitsu wa tooku mitsumete 'ta  
**__**Kokoro wa misenai **_

_**Jibun shidai de yume ga  
**__**kanau koto wo shitte 'ru  
**__**Dakara kono mune ni yomigaeru ano egao ni  
**__**GOOD LUCK & GOOD BYE **_

_**EVERYBODY, NICE! EVERYBODY, NICE!  
**__**Ashita no kagayaki wo shinjite 'ru  
**__**EVERYBODY, CHANCE! EVERYBODY, CHANCE!  
**__**Kono te mi tsukamaeyou CARRY ON!  
**__**  
EVERYBODY, NICE! EVERYBODY, NICE!  
**__**Deai to wakare dake kurikaesu  
**__**EVERYBODY, CHANCE! EVERYBODY, CHANCE!  
**__**Kotae wo mitsukeru made CARRY ON! **_

_**EVERYBODY, NICE! EVERYBODY, NICE!  
**__**EVERYBODY, CHANCE! EVERYBODY, CHANCE!  
**__**EVERYBODY, NICE! EVERYBODY, NICE!  
**__**EVERYBODY, CHANCE! EVERYBODY, CHANCE!**_

Right after the song ended I felt someone tapping me on my left shoulder and on instinct I turned around, only to have my eyes widened when I saw who it was!

"D-Duo?" I asked, completely surprised at seeing him.

"In the flesh!" He replied, wearing the friendly grin that I've seen him expression so many times yesterday. "Surprised to see me?"

"I-I wasn't sure if I would see you again, let alone this soon." Truthfully, I was so happy that I was able to see him again. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to.

"Now you know. So where are you going, Rhea?"

"I was on my way to Daily Grind to buy some coffee beans for Mom and possibly get something there as well." I told him. "Would you like to come?"

I watched as his grin got wider.

"I was just about to ask you that. Great minds think alike!" He said, looking excited.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then." I smiled.

I placed my iPod in my pocket before we started walking to Daily Grind. While we walked I glanced at Duo from the corner of my eye and noticed the outfit he was wearing, which was different then the one he wore yesterday. He wore a red wife beater tank top that was somewhat loose at the bottom with a black long sleeved leather jacket worn over it and opened, along with black leather pants and shoes. Despite being in a different outfit he still appeared to be cosplaying since his hair (or was it a wig) was still in the three foot long braid.

"What are you looking at?"

I saw Duo looking at me with a grin and I felt myself blush when I realized that he must've noticed me looking at him. He didn't appear to be annoyed that I had been staring at him, but instead seemed amused about it.

"You're outfit's different." I said quietly, but I knew he heard me since his grin got bigger.

"Of course it is. You didn't think I would wear the same thing as I did yesterday, did you?" He asked.

"No."

"It's okay. Glad you noticed, though."

"Why?" I was confused.

"Well, I gotta impress the ladies, or in this case the fair maiden."

My face heated up again and I must've looked like a tomato from blushing so much right now. That's the third time he called me that.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I asked.

"Calling you what?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Calling me 'fair maiden'."

"Oh, _that_! Because you are." He then looked slightly confused. "You don't like me calling you that?"

"No, that's not it." I shook my head, feeling my face heat up slightly. "It's just that no one's ever called me that before."

"So I'm the first, huh?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Aren't I the lucky one here! I have officially made an impact on your life!"

I couldn't help but laugh at what he said. Maybe Duo was right. He did impact my life and I've only just met him yesterday. It really did feel like we've known each other longer than just one day. Did I really trust him that much already?

"You're still cosplaying as Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing?" I asked.

"Apparently!" He replied.

"Is that hair of yours even real?"

"Yep! It's 100% genuine! Feel it if you don't believe me."

We both stopped walking and I looked at his face to see if he was joking, but all I saw was a serious expression and a small smile that only seemed encouraged me to feel his hair. I was reluctant at first but then I reached my hand out to touch his braided brown hair and I surprised at how soft it felt. I felt my way up the braid until my hand was on the back of his head and I saw what appeared to be a relaxed smile on Duo's face as I felt the hair on his head, his eyes closed.

"It _is _real!"

"Told ya."

"I can't believe this is really your hair. How is it that you got it this long?"

"Simple. Don't cut your hair once you're born."

After that discussion we continued on our way. We soon arrived at Daily Grind and upon entering I went over to the area that had all the bags of coffee beans that you could buy with Duo following me. I glanced at the labels on each of the bags and occasionally smelling them through the hole that allow people to do so. I always liked smelling the different flavors of coffee here, but I didn't like to drink it.

"So did you're mom ask you what flavor she wanted?" Duo asked.

"No. She told me to surprise her." I smiled. "Mom's just fun like that."

"What's she like?"

"Well, she very nice and understanding. She's not like the other moms that my friends have. She's acts more like an older sister and friend than a mom."

"Hmm… Sounds kinda like a friend of mine." He mused.

"Really?" I looked at him.

"Yeah. He's nice and understanding as well. He rarely gets angry, but when he does you might as well find someplace to hide."

"That bad, huh?"

"Okay, I may have exaggerated a bit there, but it does give quite a scare when he is."

I laughed. I like the fact that he had a good sense of humor. My laughter stopped when Duo held a bag of coffee beans out to me, causing me to feel confuse.

"Try this one." He told me with a smile.

I took the bag from his hand and glanced at the label that read 'Cinnamon-Hazelnut' on it. I took a sniff and found myself liking the scent.

"This smells nice. I think Mom would like this one." I was surprised when I found myself wrapping my arms around him in a hug and I must've taken him by surprise as well. "Thank you!"

"No problem!" He chuckled before suddenly wrapping his arms around me, causing me to blush, but it got deeper from what he said next (which he said quietly). "Anything for the fair maiden."

I still couldn't help wondering why he kept calling me that. Even though he told me why it was still a vague answer. Realizing that I was still hugging him I pulled away from him, turning my face away as my face seemed to get warmer and warmer by the second. But then I found myself liking that he held me. And he did it willingly!

'_What's wrong with me?_' I thought. '_I only just met him yesterday and I'm already attached to him?_'

"I gonna go buy this bag of coffee beans and something to drink." I told him.

I went over to the counter and placed the bag on the counter before ordering a small cup of hot chocolate. After being told the price I started to get my wallet out so I could pay for the coffee beans and drink I was buying but I was stopped.

"Is it late to add a small cup of coffee to that order?" I heard Duo ask.

"No it isn't, sir." The woman at the counter said.

I turned to look at Duo, confused at what he was trying to do.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Buying a cup of coffee. What else?" He turning back to the woman at the counter. "How much will that be?"

"That'll be $28.50, sir." She said.

"Okay." Duo started to pull out his wallet and my eyes widened when I realized what he was doing.

"You're going to pay for all of it?"

"Sure am! Is there a problem with that?" He asked me.

"Y-you don't have to pay for me!" I said, feeling bad about having him do something like this for me. Almost guilty…

I was taken by surprised when he gave me a very kind smile, which made me feel speechless.

"It's not a problem for me so I don't mind."

I was still speechless even after he paid for everything and I was unaware of the fact that he had lead me over to one of the couches in my dazed state. It was when I felt the warm cup of hot chocolate in my hands that I was aware of sitting on the comfortable couch with Duo next to me with his coffee in his right hand while his left arm (I realized) was draped over my shoulders, making my face heat up to what felt like 100 degrees to me. With the way my face felt maybe I should wait before I decide to take a sip of my hot chocolate.

I took this time to look around the room at the other people sitting around either drinking their drinks, talking with each other, or both. I noticed a boy wearing tan colored pants sitting not too far away from us on a couch reading a newspaper. I really couldn't tell how old he was, what color his shirt was, or what he looked like, but I did managed to see what looked to be platinum blonde hair. I saw a pair of blue eyes peer over the top of the paper the boy was read, only to widen when he realized I was watching him before quickly hiding his face behind the paper again, leaving me confused. Was that boy shy or…

"Aren't you going to drink your hot chocolate, Rhea?"

I realized Duo was talking to me and turned to look at his smiling face, only to look at the cup I held in my hands as I blushed.

"I-I am! I was…just waiting for it to cool down a bit, that's all." I replied.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about it being hot." He chuckled. "I bet it's cold by now."

I took a small sip of my hot chocolate and noticed that it wasn't hot or cold, but warm.

"It's not cold!"

I dared myself to look at Duo's face. I saw him grin before bring his face closer to mine and causing me to blush for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. Not to mention that I just remember that his arm was still around my shoulders.

"Are you sure about that or is your mind playing tricks on you, fair maiden?" He asked quietly.

I found myself staring into Duo's cobalt blue eyes and felt as if I was being hypnotized by them. I tried to look away but I found that I couldn't even do that simple action. I got lost in those eyes that I found to be beautiful and I momentarily forgot where I was, even who I was at the time. My mind seemed to go blank and the only thing I could think of were the beautiful cobalt blue eyes that I was staring at. What was…?

I suddenly felt something warm on my lips and my eyes widened when I realized what was happening! He was…kissing me…! Again! But on the lip this time! My body was tense but now it was suddenly starting to relax and I found myself closing my eyes. After a few seconds we pulled away and that was when I came back to my senses, blushing madly before looking away from Duo to hide how red my face looked right. And I realized in shock that he had stolen my first kiss and I knew I could never get it back. I couldn't believe this happened! But strangely enough, I liked it.

"Rhea? Are you okay?" I heard him ask. I didn't know what to say. When I didn't answer I heard him groan in what sounded like disappointment. "Don't tell me I did that too soon! I definitely screwed this up…"

I turned to look at him, feeling somewhat sorry for him. This wasn't his first time he's done this, was it?

"Haven't you ever dated someone before?" I asked, having finally found my voice again.

"Nope. Never had the time to do it since me and my friends have always been busy with our jobs, so to say."

"I haven't either. You know how in baseball the batter has three chances to hit the ball before they're out , right?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Duo looked at me with a questioning look.

"I was thinking that I'll give you those chances, but instead of three you'll get a total of ten chances before you're out." I told him. "Since you didn't know what you were doing a few seconds ago I'm not counting this on against you."

Duo seemed to catch on to what I was saying and looked hopeful.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He asked, his voice matching his facial expression.

"If you mean me agreeing to go out with you, then yes." I blushed slightly, but I didn't hide it this time.

I watched as he suddenly grinned before he took one of my hands with both of his and I realized how small mine where compared to his. He placed a quick kiss on the back of my hand as he continued to grin.

"This is great! I'm glad you agree about this. Wait a minute!"

I was confused about why he said that and watched as Duo reached his hand into one of the pockets of his jacket before pulling what looked like a hand made ring made out of silver with an oval shaped black onyx stone about the size of one of a coffee bean (no pun intended since we were in Daily Grind) set on top. By the way it looked it reminded me of tribal ware jewelry.

"I wanna give this to you." He said while placing the ring in my hand. "Think of it as a way of saying that we're officially dating. What do ya think?"

"It's pretty. It didn't cost you a lot of money, did it?"

"If by a lot of money you mean somewhere around $20, then that depends on your definition on that subject." He grinned. "Go on! Try it on!"

I slipped the ring on my right ring finger but it turned out that the ring was too big for it.

"It's a little big." I stated the obvious.

"No problem. Let me see it." I handed the ring back to Duo before he grabbed my right hand with one of his while he used the other to slip the ring on my middle finger, which turned out to be a perfect fit for the piece of jewelry. "There! Perfect fit!"

"Thank you!" I gave him a smile. "I'll always wear it."

"Glad you like it." He stood up from the couch we were sitting on before turning to me. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just let me get everything first."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

After we spent most of the day out Duo walked me back home. We both stood in front of the front door facing each other and I knew it was time for us to part, but this time I knew I would see him again.

"I had a good time with you." I said, giving him a smile. "I hope to see you again tomorrow."

"With the way things were today, you most likely will." Duo said with a grin. "I guarantee you will."

"That's good. Is it possible for me to get your phone number?"

"It sure is! Give me you phone and I'll put it in, while you do the same for mine."

At this we swapped cell phones as we but our numbers into the other person's phone. The funny thing was that Duo finished before me and handed me my cell as soon as I was finished putting my number. I gave him back his phone, feeling a sense of accomplishment when it was in his hands.

"Thanks, Rhea!" He then placed a brief kiss to my lips and looked at me with a soft smile. "Not only are you a fair maiden, but you're _my _fair maiden."

With that Duo walked away from my house and I watched as he made his way down the sidewalk until I couldn't see him anymore. It almost reminded me of yesterday, but this time it was different. I went inside and had dinner with Mom, who asked me how my day was and I told her about my new boyfriend (minus the unexpected kiss at Daily Grind). She had been surprised at this, but even more surprised at the flavored coffee beans we picked out for her. After dinner I went to my room to get ready for bed, laying in bed as I stared up at the ceil. I touched my lips with the hand that had the ring Duo gave me still on my middle finger as I remembered the kiss. I went to sleep still thinking about it.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Duo continued to walk down the rode, only glancing back to the house Rhea lived in once before his phone went off.

_Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring  
__Banana phone_

He looked at the caller ID, grinning slightly before pressing the talk button on his phone and placing it to his ear.

"What up, Heero?" He greeted.

"**Did you give it to her?**" Heero asked, getting straight to the point.

Duo frowned.

"Yeah, I did." He scratched the back of his head. "But in all seriousness, Heero, are you sure about this?"

"**What do you think, Duo?**"

"You wanna know what I think?" Duo asked. "Well, I think that this…!" It was then that that he realized what Heero did. "…Aaaannnd he hangs up on me… Figures…"

* * *

ATE: That's it for chap 2 of 'Glowing Star'. For anyone who wants a english translation of 'Good Luck & Goodbye', look no further! I have a translation of the lyrics which I found on 'animelyrics dot com'. Here it is:

_Everybody, nice! Everybody, nice!  
__Believe in the shining of tomorrow  
__Everybody, chance! Everybody, chance!  
__Grab on to my hand and carry on..._

_We who just bumped shoulders  
__And brushed past each other,  
__Each in our own way -  
__We'll search for tomorrow  
__  
We'll meet again sometime  
__In the dreams you're searching for  
__As you face into the wind and I see your back becoming small in the distance...  
__Good luck and Goodbye_

_Everybody, nice! Everybody, nice!  
__Only meeting and parting - again and again...  
__Everybody, chance! Everybody, chance!  
__Until you find the answers... carry on!_

_Although not that hard enough to hurt,  
__He's biting his lips hard...  
__He's staring off into the distance  
__And won't show his heart..._

_I know it's up to me  
__To fulfill my own dreams...  
__So, to that smile of yours that lives again in my heart...  
__Good luck and Goodbye_

_Everybody, nice! Everybody, nice!  
__Believe in the shining of tomorrow  
__Everybody, chance! Everybody, chance!  
__Grab on to my hand and carry on..._

_Everybody, nice! Everybody, nice!  
__Only meeting and parting - again and again...  
__Everybody, chance! Everybody, chance!  
__Until you find the answers... carry on..._

_Everybody, nice! Everybody, nice!  
__Everybody, chance! Everybody, chance!  
__Everybody, nice! Everybody, nice!  
__Everybody, chance! Everybody, chance!_

And if anyone is wondering what the outfit Duo is wearing looks like, here a link to a picture with him wearing the outfit, along with the other G-boys (without the spaces):

**_(http : / media . photo bucket . com / image / duo % 20 maxwell / Stellar1818/ Duo %20 Maxwell /39 . jpg ? o =32)_**

I hope you all liked chap 2. Please remember to leave a review. And also, if you want to suggest an idea for any upcoming chaps, feel free to share them with me and I'll give you credit. :)


	3. Chapter 3

ATE: I'm sorry for taking so long to update this story. As usual, I want to thank Marimelb and Zeltrax541 for their reviews so far. This chap took awhile for me to write and I wanted to post it before I have to go to work today. Before you start reading I want to apologize if any of the original characters are OOC. Enjoy!

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Endless Waltz. I only own Rhea.

* * *

Chapter 3

_RIIIIIING! RIIIIIING! RIIIIIING!_

I groaned, placing my pillow over my head in order to block out the ringing sound of my cell phone going off. Here I was trying to sleep in again but the phone kept making that annoying sound. I wasn't sure which was more annoying. My cell phone going off at maximum volume or my alarm clock going off? It continued ringing loudly before a loud '_ding!' _sounded and it was quiet. Since I was already awake (or half asleep) I took the pillow off my head and looked over at my nightstand and taking my phone off it. I saw that I had a missed message and found that it was actually…a _text_ message!

'_Who's texting me this early?_' I thought.

I clicked on the text message and read what it said.

_**Meet me in the park at 12.**_

"Huh?" I said out loud. Who was this person? I started writing my reply.

_**Who r u?**_

I sent my text message after typing it up. Only a minute later did I get an answer, but not the way I expected it.

_**; D**_

What the…? I ask them who they are and they give me a Smiley instead! Whoever this was obviously liked to poke fun at people, at least that's what I assumed. I looked to my clock and saw that it was 9:30 in the morning already!

I jumped out of bed, grabbing some clean clothes and getting into the shower (remembering the brush my hair this time). After I finished doing everything in the bathroom I was dressed in tan cargo pants and a black t-shirt. I looked at my clock and saw that it was 10:00. Good! I had enough time to have breakfast and get to the park before whoever I was supposed to meet. I grabbed my iPod, cell phone, got my watch on, and I placed the ring Duo gave me on my right middle finger, smiling as I glanced at it. I got downstairs and ate breakfast as I told Mom that I would be going to the park and that I would have my cell phone with me if she needed anything, to which she told me that I should call her if I'm going anywhere else. By the time I left home I glanced at my watch to see that it was now 10:30. So far I was making good time.

To make a long story short I eventually made it to the park at about 11:00 and since there was nothing to do I chose to sit down on a wooden bench and looked around the park, watching all the people passing by and such. Some time passed and I heard the sound of music being played and turned in the direction of where it was coming from to find a boy with brown hair with the bangs covering one of his eyes, wearing a long sleeved black turtle neck and white pants playing a flute, his eyes closed as he focused on the sweet music he was making with it. I found myself feeling relaxed as I listened to him play, but something about him seemed familiar, but what? Suddenly two hands covered my eyes from behind and took me by surprised.

"Guess who?" A familiar voice asked.

I lifted my hands up to placed them over the ones covering my eyes and felt the warmth from them. I couldn't help but smile, knowing who it was.

"I know who you are, so you can stop covering my eyes." I said.

"That may be true, but you still have to answer the question. That answer won't suffice."

I sighed.

"Duo."

"Bingo!"

The hands covering my eyes were removed and I turned my head around to see Duo grinning at me while leaning over the back on the bench with his arms crossed and his head resting on them. The outfit he wore this time was a another red wife beater tank top but with a logo on the front and a white button up jacket which had the sleeves rolled up to below his elbows, and tan colored pants that completed the outfit.

"So what did you think of my message?" He asked.

I took me a few seconds to realize what he meant.

"So that text message was from you?" I asked.

"Of course, Rhea! I gave you my number after all." To prove his statement he waved his cell phone in the air. "Don't you remember?":

"I was half asleep at the time I got it so my mind wasn't able to register that it was from you."

"Oh! So that explains your response to my message."

Duo stood up before coming around the bench to sit next to me. I couldn't help but look at his long braided hair and I wondered how was it that he always managed to make it look so nice.

"Do you braid your own hair?" I asked.

"Yep! Everyday of every month of every year. What? You thought I didn't?"

"Not exactly…"

Duo grinned.

"It's because you think it appears to be too nice for a guy to have done it?"

"I guess so. I just find it intriguing sometimes. I mean, it does look nice the way you did it and all."

"I could braid your hair for you." He offered.

"What?" I was surprised and felt my face heat up a bit. "Are you serious?"

"I'm not just serious, I'm DEAD serious! And you might as well turn around so I can do it."

My blush got deeper but I still turned around so by back was facing Duo. I felt his hands playing with my hair as he started braiding it slowly and I tried so hard to suppress the shiver I felt. I had a feeling he was doing it slowly on purpose. Okay, I can find something to distract myself from this. What about that boy playing the flute? That'd be a good distraction…except for one thing. He wasn't there anymore playing his flute!

'_Damn!_' I thought. '_And I liked listening to him play, too!_'

"Done!"

As soon as Duo said that I felt something laying on top of my head. I leaned my head back a bit and saw that it was his head that I felt on my head. I couldn't help but laugh at his goofy looking grin on his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked, smiling.

"Using you as my personal headrest." He replied.

"I'm not a headrest!"

I tried to get up but Duo wrapped his arms around me, preventing me from escaping. His hold was firm and no matter how hard I tried to move his arms wouldn't budge.

"Oh no you don't! You're not going anywhere!"

"Isn't this nice? I'm being held captive by my new boyfriend."

"That's right! And the only way to get free is to answer a question."

"And that would be?"

"Which one? Sappy romance or horror?"

I realized what he meant by this question and I couldn't help but smile.

"Horror. I can't stand sappy romances." I told him.

"Great! To the movies!" He said excitedly.

"But first let me tell Mom about this."

Duo pulled his arms away from me and I was able to get my phone out before dialing home. I heard it ring three times before I heard her answer.

"Hey, Mom!" I said.

"**Hi, sweetie! Is there something you need?**" She asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to see a movie with my new boyfriend."

"**Okay. Just be careful.**"

"I'll be careful."

"Can I see the phone?" Duo asked.

I handed my phone over to Duo, who placed it to his ear.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Brooks. She's in good hands!" He told Mom. It was quiet as he listened to what she said. "I'll have her home as soon as the movie's over. See ya!" With that Duo hung up my cell phone and handed it back to me. "Apparently your mom approves of me."

"Really now? What gave you that impression?" I asked.

"She implied it. She really is as nice as you said."

"I told you."

With that done with we left the park and started making our way to the theater. I refused to let Duo pay for the tickets since he had bought the coffee beans and my hot chocolate yesterday. But despite this he found a way around this and bought popcorn and drinks. I had a feeling he knew this would happen. We managed to find good seats just in time for the movie to start.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

When it was only fifteen minutes into the movie Duo felt his cell phone vibrate before he pulled it out, seeing that it was a text message from Heero.

_**We need to talk.**_

Duo frowned slightly at this. What could Heero possibly need to talk to him about? He had to go somewhere to take the call, but how was he going to get out without looking suspicious to Rhea? Duo spotted his drink, which was already empty before the movie started (it happened while the previews were still going) and thought out the perfect excuse, but it would still be the truth.

"I'm gonna go get a refill." He whispered to Rhea.

"Okay." She whispered back.

'_Perfect!_' He thought.

Duo grabbed his cup and easily made his way out of the row of seats (he was sitting on the outside seat, which made it easier for him). As he walked towards the door he spotted Wufei sitting in a seat that would have been easy to miss if you came into the auditorium through the doors and nodded to him. Duo grinned when the Chinese boy growled quietly before he went through the doors and went inside the bathroom. He dialed Heero's number and waited for the perfect soldier to answer.

"**Hn.**" Was Heero's infamous answer.

"Okay! I know you want to talk, so talk!" Duo said. "What's so important that it can't wait until later?"

"**They know about her.**"

Duo's cobalt blue eyes widened in shock.

"Already? It's too soon! I thought we had a good amount of time before this happened!"

"**We did. But it looks like they found out about her sooner than we expected. Keep an eye on her.**"

With that Heero hung up. Duo stood there for a few seconds before leaving the bathroom. He had to get his refill after all.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I continued to watch the movie as I waited for Duo to return from getting a refill on his drink. I suddenly felt cold and cursed myself for not thinking of bringing a jacket with me. After awhile I heard someone sit down next to me and saw that Duo was back, seating his drink down in the cup holder. I tried not to think about being cold, but I probably wasn't doing a good job since he started taking his white jacket off and handing it to me.

"Put this on." His whispered to me.

I couldn't help but stare at him, or better yet his arms. This was the first time I've seen him without a jacket on and I was surprised to see how built (for lack of better words) they were. I somehow managed to pull my eyes away from him so I could get his jacket on me. As soon as it was on Duo wrapped an arm around my shoulders before pulling me closer to him and I was glad that the room was dark since he wouldn't be able to see me blush. I found that he smelled nice, but I couldn't put a name to what it was he smelled like. Maybe it was a unique smell that only applied to him. There was a part in the movie that made me jump and I moved closer to Duo, which made him tighten his one arm hold around me as if to reassure me.

After the movie was over I had caught sight of a Chinese looking boy with wearing a dark purple wife beater and white pants while me and Duo threw away the empty popcorn bag and cups in the trash can before leaving. The boy did look familiar, just like the one I saw playing the flute in the park earlier today. With that aside Duo walked me home like he normally did and I returned his white jacket to him. When we were at my house we stood on the side walk facing each other, but there was something about his cobalt blue eyes that I saw. They looked…almost sad, along with something else I wasn't able to identify.

"What's wrong, Duo?" I asked.

He seemed to be caught off guard by my question but then he regained his composure.

"What if I wasn't who you thought I was?" He suddenly asked.

I felt confused by what he meant.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You said that you thought I cosplay all the time. What if I wasn't really a cosplayer? What if this was actually how I looked and acted?"

I thought about his question as he gazed at me.

"If that were the case, then you'd be like my favorite anime character." I hung my head. "Other than that, I really don't know…"

Duo placed his hand under my chin and lifted it up so I was forced to look at him. He gave me a smile that looked a little sad. But why was he sad?

"That's all I need to know, Rhea…" He brought his face closer to mine and we were only inches away from each other. "…my fair maiden." Duo pressed his lips to mine, but instead of it being a brief kiss like yesterday this one lasted a good few seconds before we parted again. He didn't give me one of his friendly grins this time, instead it was that same sad smile I saw. It was still there.

"Why are you sad?" I asked.

"I can't tell you." He shook his head. "I wish I could, but I can't." He pulled away from me before turning around. "See ya next time."

"Goodbye…"

I watched as he walked down the street and I couldn't help thinking about his sad look. I didn't like seeing him like this and I think it got to me. I looked up to the sky that was colored orange.

"What would you do, Dad?" I asked quietly. "I wish you were still here with us."

I went inside my house to see Mom in the kitchen and I could tell she was cooking dinner by the smell of food. There was also a cardboard box sitting on the counter and I couldn't help but wonder what was inside it.

"I'm home, Mom." I announced.

"Oh, Rhea! It's good to see you. Dinner is almost ready." She said. "There's a box addressed to you that came in the mail today."

"Is it the one on the counter?"

"No, it's the one on the couch." She said sarcastically.

"Funny, Mom."

I picked up the box on the counter and looked it over for where it came from, but there was nothing. Strange… I started peeling the tape off in order to open it, but what I found inside made my eyes widen!

"Mom! I think we should get out of here!" I said, watching as the red digital numbers started counting back, the current number being 00:25 on the object.

"Why?" Mom came over to me and I heard her cry out. "Oh my god, it's a bomb!"

"Run!"

I dropped the bomb and both me and Mom started to run as fast as we could to the front door. I was the first to get outside and I looked over my shoulder to see Mom, but just as she was about to run out of the door there was an explosion. The force from it flung me forward (away from the house), causing me to land on the concrete ground painfully. As soon as I recovered I pushed myself off the ground but I cried out as pain shot down my left arm like a thousand needles were stabbing it. Once I managed to get up I looked back at the house, seeing that it was completely destroyed and on fire from the bomb. My eyes widened when I spotted Mom's body sprawled on the ground!

"MOM!" I yelled, running over to her and kneeling down beside her. "Mom! Mom! Wake up!" I started crying as I shook her. I tried feeling for a pulse, but there wasn't any! She was…! "Mom…! Please don't leave me, too…! Don't leave me alone…!"

My eyes widened when I felt the ground shaking and I turned around to see…

"Mobile Suits?" I cried in complete disbelief.

I watched as they saw me and started to aim in my direction. Oh my god! I was going to die! I don't want to die! But if I lived, where would I go? I was under aged and knew I couldn't live by myself. I shut my eyes tightly as I knew what would come next.

But I didn't expect what happened next. I heard the loud sound of something hitting something and I opened my eyes to see not just Mobile Suits, but Gundams! And five of them! All five Gundams were the ones piloted by the G-boys from Gundam Wing. There was Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, and Altron, and they were the custom version from Endless Waltz!

"What the hell is going on?" Seeing that the area was now a war zone, I quickly got up and started running away. "I'm getting out of here!"

The sound of bullets firing and metal crashing, banging, tearing, and being sliced open followed me as I ran as hard as I could towards the woods, not caring if I got tired at all. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the image of my dead Mom out of my head, causing new tears to fall from my eyes. First I lost Dad to the war and now I've lost Mom. And the fact that I was there when she died was even worst! Why was this happening?

I suddenly heard something coming from behind me and it was approaching fast! I forced myself to run faster, but it didn't help me in getting away from whatever was gaining on me. I saw a large shadow pass over me before landing in front of me, causing the ground to tremor. My eyes widened when I saw that it was Deathscythe Hell and I couldn't help but feel terrified. You would think that after watching Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz as much as I have at home I wouldn't be scared. That wasn't the case here. From what I could remember from the info on the Gundam in front of me it was 16.3 meters, which also happened to be 53.5 feet tall. Actually seeing it tower over me I could understand why the enemies in the series feared it; Deathscythe Hell was a very intimidating machine and its dark coloration and demonic appearance only fueled the fear I felt like more wood being added to a roaring inferno. In my eyes it was the perfect personification of the God of Death. I tried to run away from it, but I didn't get far and was caught by a large metal hand before the other one covered over the one that held me, trapping me inside a cage of metal that blocked out any form of light and prevented me from seeing anything outside of it.

"Let me out!" I yelled, banging on the metal hands that had me trapped inside with my right arm since my left one was in too much pain at the time. I could feel the hands moving somewhere but I didn't know where.

"Rhea, calm down!"

My eyes widened when I heard the familiar voice (though it was slightly muffled but sounded as if it were coming from a loud speaker) and stopped banging on the metal hands. No! It couldn't be!

The metal hand that covered the top of the one holding me was removed and I watched as the hatch to the cockpit opened up, revealing Duo inside, but instead of being in the outfit he had been wearing earlier he was wearing the same black outfit he wore when I first met him, his signature outfit. I knew he had been the one piloting Deathscythe Hell the whole time, but a part of me had hoped it hadn't been him.

**_"What if I wasn't who you thought I was?" _**

**_"You said that you thought I cosplay all the time. What if I wasn't really a cosplayer? What if this was actually how I looked and acted?"_**

I now realized what he meant when he had asked me that question. It all made sense. He wasn't a cosplayer and he wasn't acting. He really was Duo Maxwell, pilot of Deathscythe Hell.

"Duo…!" I said quietly.

More tears came to my eyes and caused my vision to blur a bit, but I was still able to make out Duo's form making his way over to me. I hung my head so I didn't have to look at him, but then I felt arms wrap around me before being pulled into a warm chest.

"It's okay, Rhea." I heard him tell me.

"No, it's not okay!" I cried hysterically. "Mom was just killed and I was there when it happened! She died and I couldn't save her!"

"I know, but you need to calm down!

"None of this should be happening! This isn't real!"

I heard Duo sigh.

"I apologize in advance for what I'm about to do next."

Suddenly I felt something hit me in my occipital ridge really hard and that was all I remembered before I went out.

* * *

ATE: That's another chap done for the day. I know it seems a bit rush and again I'm sorry if anyone seemed OOC. I realize that the five Gundams in this chap are the custom versions from Endless Waltz, and just to clear things up this story will most likely take place before Endless Waltz occurs. As for the outfit that Duo wears in this chap, here a link (take out the spaces first):

_**http : / 2 . bp . blogspot . Com / _ XFG uSZ 6n 1LY / Skf nMF M81 7I / AAA AAA AAA hE / w0Nu 0S3P k3s / s 400 / Duo - Maxwell - pict . jpg**_

Please remember to review, and if anyone wants to suggest any ideas feel free to share and I'll give you credit. :)


	4. Chapter 4

ATE: After X amount of days, I've finally updated again. I wanna thank** Marimelb** and **i love athrun **for their reviews for the last chap. A shout out to both of you if you're reading this (and **Zeltrax541** as well): I'm really glad you like this story! It makes me happy to read your reviews and I'll admit now that they inspire me to continue. The last two days I couldn't help but think of all of you and I had taken a blank notebook and mechanical pencil with me on a boating trip in order write up a concept for this chap. and this is the result that you get. I hope that you all enjoy chap. 4.

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything related to it. I only own Rhea, her Mom, and anything that isn't from the series.

* * *

Chapter 4

_I found myself walking into the kitchen where I found Mom cooking dinner, but upon seeing the cardboard box sitting on the counter I was filled with dread, knowing what was going to happen. I had to warn her! I opened my mouth to tell Mom about the bomb, but what came out of it wasn't what I intended to say!_

"_I'm home, Mom." The words left my lips and I didn't have any control._

"_Oh, Rhea! It's good to see you. Dinner is almost ready." Mom. said. "There's a box addressed to you that came in the mail today."_

"_Is it the one on the counter?" Again, the words came out of my mouth without my control._

"_No, it's the one on the couch."_

"_Funny, Mom."_

_My body started moving by itself towards the counter and no matter how much or how hard I tried I wasn't able to stop myself. I had no control over my own body! I knew what would happen next and I was being forced to watch as my body seemed to have a mind of its own._

'STOP!' _I begged mentally. _'I don't want to watch! I don't want to see her die again!'

_The box was now open and I saw the bomb inside. I was mentally screaming as my body continued to move on its own._

"_Mom! I think we should get out of here!"_

"_Why?" I heard Mom come up from behind me, followed by a gasp. "Oh my god, it's a bomb!"_

"_Run!" _

_My body automatically started running to the door and I ran out. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I turned around, watching as Mom tried to get out as fast as she could. But it wasn't fast enough and I saw her get caught in the explosion. I cried out as I watched her die and as I was thrown away from the now destroyed house. I finally had control over my body and I managed to get myself up (and feeling the pain in my left arm) before running over to Mom's body. I felt tears fall from my eyes in an uncontrollable manner as I held her upper half close to me, not caring if blood stained my clothes._

_Suddenly Mom's body disappeared from my arms and confusion overwhelmed me as I looked around for her, only to have my eyes widen in horror as I saw multiple copies of my home exploding along with multiple copies of Mom dying surround me. Over and over I watched as she died in front of me as if it was a scene from a movie constantly being repeated and each time was like a painful stab in the heart._

"_MOM!" I screamed despairingly._

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I shot up into an upright position before starting to cry uncontrollably from where I sat. It was there! The image of Mom dying was still in my mind and fresh. I wasn't able to save my last family member! It's my fault that she died!

I suddenly felt arms wrap around my body before pulling me into a warm chest, holding me close as I continued to cry. I heard whoever was holding me saying something to me, but my mind wasn't able to register what they said or what they sounded like.

"Mom…" I said faintly before everything went dark.

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Duo watched as Rhea finally fell asleep after crying so much. He gazed down at her sleeping form, his cobalt blue eyes filled with sympathy and sadness.

"Sorry, kiddo, but I'm not you mom…" He said quietly.

Duo laid her back down on the bed she had been sleeping on before pulling the covers up to her shoulders. This was the third time this week that this has happened. Rhea would wake up and start crying as she remembered her mom dying (at least that's what he assumed). He took it upon himself to check up on her and if he found her in such a state he would hold her until she cried herself to sleep, as was the case just now. She was still in shock and Duo wanted to help her through it. He felt like it was his fault and knew what Rhea was going through. It was just like the Maxwell Church Tragedy all over again. She was just like him now: an orphan.

'_But what about her dad?_' He suddenly thought. '_Isn't he alive?_'

Even if Rhea's dad was still alive it was too late to see him. After all, they were no longer in that dimension. But then where would she stay? She wouldn't want to stay at the base.

"Maybe I could take care of you." He found himself saying quietly, looking at Rhea. "That is, if you let me…

What was he thinking? It wasn't like she could hear him! But for some reason he felt like he needed to tell her that. Or was it himself?

Would he even be able to take care of her at all? Without her getting killed? He was the God of Death! Death followed him wherever he went and took the live of those close to him. Death had taken his friend, Solo, and his adopted family, Father Maxwell and Sister Helen when he was young. And three days ago Death had followed him again. It didn't make any sense! Duo hardly knew Rhea's mom (he had only talked to her once and that was over the phone) and despite her not being close to him she died. But Rhea had gotten close to him and yet she hadn't died. Instead, her mom's life had been taken. It was as if her mom sacrificed her life so that her daughter could live. Maybe he and Rhea weren't so different than he thought. Maybe he would be able to take care of her.

Duo got up from where he sat on the bed and went over to the door to leave. He looked back at her one last time before leaving.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Consciousness came back to me as I started to wake up. I managed to open my eyes after a bit of effort before sitting up. I found myself lying in a bed inside a room I've never seen before, its huge size making me feel overwhelmed a bit. It looked too nice for a normal bedroom. The bed I was on was huge and I assumed that it was king sized. I tried to stretch my arms out but I found that I couldn't do so with my left arm and looked to see that my left arm was in a long arm cast while in a bent position. I could only assume that it was broken. Great…

"Where am I?" I asked out loud.

I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps outside the door (that was in the far right corner from where I sat) and my eyes widened as I watched the doorknob turned, anticipating the door to open. Quickly, I pulled the covers up with my good arm before hiding underneath them. I soon heard the door open and it was quiet for awhile before I heard it close shut. It was quiet. Too quiet. Whoever opened the door didn't leave since I didn't hear their footsteps recede. Could they still be in the room?

Without warning the covers were swiftly pulled away and I came face to face with a familiar person.

"Looks like sleeping beauty's finally awake!" He said, a grin on his face.

"Duo…" Was the only thing I said.

"The one and only. Unless you met someone else named 'Duo' that I'm not aware of, fair maiden. Buuut I find that very unlikely."

I couldn't help but stare at him and I felt like I was really seeing him for the first time. I couldn't believe it! This was the same Duo I first met in the park and it turns out that he is the real Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing. All this time I had been spending my time with one of my favorite anime characters. I felt my eyes start to water before I found myself holding onto Duo with a one arm hold around him as I started to cry. I knew I had taken him by surprise but after awhile he wrapped his arms around me in return. Eventually I managed to stop crying and pulled away a bit, but I still hung my head a bit.

"What? You're done crying?" Duo asked, sounding concern.

"Yeah…" I said quietly. "I feel like I've cried enough for Mom. And crying won't bring her back…"

Even if I continued to see Mom die repeatedly in my dreams, I knew that I had to be strong.

"So you're not mad at me?"

I lifted my head up to look at Duo's face and I could see that he looked a bit confused.

"Why would I be mad at you?" I asked.

"I can think of two reasons off the top of my head. One, I didn't tell you who I really was, and two, I knocked you unconscious."

"No, I'm not mad. I can understand where you're coming from, but you had your reasons as well. True that you didn't tell me who you really were, but you didn't exactly lie about it. You only withheld some details. As for knocking me unconscious, completely understandable."

"Good to know that you're not mad." He sounded like he was letting out the breath he was holding. "But I did apologize about having to knock you out."

"That's true." I agreed. "Where am I?"

"Let's see… You're in a nice fancy room, in a nice fancy mansion that happens to belong to Quatre. Any other questions?"

I was completely surprised! Quatre's mansion…

"Um…how long have I been asleep?"

"You've been asleep for three days. Although you've been waking up occasionally during that time, and you woke up earlier. This is the fourth time you've woken up."

"Strange. I don't remember that happening."

"I'm not surprised. You were kinda half asleep, but mostly asleep." Then Duo's face had an expression as if he remembered something. "Oh yeah! Now I remember why I came!"

Duo unwrapped his arms from around me before standing up. I watched as he bent down to get something off the floor that I wasn't able to see.

"What? But I thought you came to tell me what happened!"

"That too, but this is the other reason!" Just then Duo stood up straight and I saw that he held a tray with plate of food in both hands. He wore a grin on his face and I could see excitement in his cobalt blue eyes. "Taa daa! Breakfast is officially served!"

"Food?" I exclaimed, my eyes wide as I stared at the plate.

There was scrambled eggs, a stack of five pancakes, and two pieces of sausage and bacon each. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I saw the plate of food and I heard my stomach growl, causing my face to heat up in embarrassment. Duo started to laugh.

"That's right! And your stomach growling like that is proof that you're hungry." Duo picked up the fork on the tray and scooped up some scrambled eggs before bring in closer to my face. "Say 'ahhhh…'"

My face got warmer than it already was as I realized what he was trying to do!

"You're spoon feeding me?"

"Yep! In case you didn't notice your whole left arm is in a cast." He grinned.

"I can feed myself! I can still use my right arm!"

To prove my point I waved my right arm around in the air. Duo's grin only got bigger.

"I know. But I'm the one holding the plate of food, so you have no choice. Now open up!" Duo brought the fork to my mouth, but I refused to open it. He attempted this a few more times before he sighed. "Guess I have no choice but to switch to Plan B."

I watched Duo place the fork back on the plate before setting it down on the nearby night stand. He got on the bed and sat with his back leaning against the wooden headboard while his legs were spread out. I yelped in surprise when Duo pulled me over to him so that I sat between his legs while his right arm wrapped around my stomach, forcing me to lean back against him and preventing me from getting up. I blushed when I felt the warmth from his chest through the back of my shirt. Hell, even the position I was in only made it worst! I felt like I would die from embarrassment at any second! Duo must've picked up the tray since he placed it on top of my lap before he took his right arm away from around my stomach, only to replace it with his left arm and picked up the fork with his right hand. He brought it up to my mouth and I had a feeling he was grinning.

"C'mon! Open up for Duo Maxwell!" He said. "You know you want to."

I stared at the fork in front of my mouth. It did look good and it was very tempting. Maybe I should just let him spoon feed me and get it over with. I slowly opened my mouth and once Duo saw this he guided the fork into my mouth before pulling it away so I could chew the eggs. I was surprised at how good they tasted!

"Well, what do ya know! My fair maiden finally decides to cooperate with me! That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were in my position, Duo." I stated.

"As a matter of fact I would. I'm comfortable with how I'm sitting, but I can't say the same for you."

I looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Bastard."

Duo's expression changed to that of a fake pout.

"Oh, I see how it is!" He pretended to sound hurt. "For that you're gonna have to spend an hour in this exact position once you're done eating!"

"Okay, Duo! I'm sorry! I'm really, really, really, really, sorry about saying that! I didn't mean it!" I panicked with wide eyes. "I'll be good! I promise!"

Duo was quiet and his gaze went up to the ceiling as he appeared to be thinking.

"I don't know. I'll think about it while you're eating."

I gulped at the way Duo said that. I hope he let's me go. I'm really uncomfortable as it is. The fork came up to my face with some small pieces of pancakes on it and this time I willingly opened my mouth so he could slip it in. It continued like this until I was full and there was no food left on the plate. It just goes to show how hungry I really was. The tray was moved over to the nightstand so that it was out of the way.

"Okay, I ate everything on the plate. Can you let go of me now?" I asked.

"Nope!" He replied.

"B-but I finished all the food! I let you spoon feed me for crying out loud!"

"But because of your little comment earlier you're gonna stay in this position for an hour." I was taken by surprised when Duo's other arm (the one he had used to hold the fork) wrapped around my middle and pulled me closer to him, chuckling as he did this. "I get to spend time with my girlfriend!"

I blushed from that last sentence and I felt my body tense up. I felt overwhelmed by the warmth I felt coming from Duo as he held me.

"Is it really that bad to spend time with me?" He asked. "You weren't like this all those other times we were together."

"That was before I learned you were the real Duo Maxwell from the Gundam Wing anime instead of a cosplayer." I said. "I can't believe I actually told you that you were my favorite character…" I said this quietly.

But apparently Duo overheard me.

"Hey, you did admit that I was your favorite character from the anime when we first met." I felt him place his chin on top of my head from behind but I was surprised when his voice changed from being cheerful to serious. "Do you know how that made me feel when you told me that?"

"No…"

"Believe it or not I felt happy when you told me that. I felt like I was appreciated by someone else besides my other buddies here."

"Do you really mean that?" I asked.

"I may run and hide, but I'll never tell a lie." His voice got quieter to the point that it was a whisper, but I was able to hear it. "You know what I'm also called, right?"

"The God of Death…"

"Yeah. That's right. I'm the God of Death." He held me tighter and I knew that something was wrong. "Usually I wouldn't allow someone to get this close to me, and you probably know my reason as well. But for some reason you're the first person I've really cared about that hasn't died yet, even during what happened three days ago. Maybe it's because you made a deal with Death."

I sighed before I willingly let myself lean back against Duo, no longer feeling uncomfortable with the position I was in. I felt sympathy for him and I felt like I had to let him know that I understand what he felt. I may have lost both Mom and Dad, but he's lost more than me. Maybe if I show him that I'm no longer uncomfortable in my position it would help him.

"Or maybe it's because you're _my_ God of Death." I told him. "And I'm _your_ fair maiden."

I closed my eyes as I felt tired. I was warm because of Duo and I was able to relax and feel comfortable. It's hard to believe that earlier I was uncomfortable with this position.

"I'm your God of Death…" He mused before going quiet and I felt him lift one of his arms up. "Looks like an hour's up. I'll let you go now."

I opened my eyes when I felt his arms retreat before they tried to shift me.

"No… Stay…"

"What?" I saw Duo look down at me with surprise. "But I thought you didn't want to be in this position, Rhea."

"I didn't. But I got so comfortable after awhile." I said. "Please stay with me…"

"As you wish, fair maiden." He gave me a soft smile. "Let me change my position first."

I felt Duo shift his position so that he was propped against the many pillows that I just realized were on the bed before he wrapped his arms around me. I took this time to use my right hand to pull the covers over us and I heard him chuckle quietly. When I was satisfied I leaned back against Duo before closing my eyes.

"You're so warm…" I said quietly.

"And you're so beautiful." I then heard him sigh quietly, sounding relaxed. "To think someone would actually love the God of Death for who he really is…"

"Yeah… Love you…" I smiled as I relaxed.

"…Love you, too…"

That was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

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ATE: This took a good amount of this day to finish this chap., but I feel better knowing that it's done and being read by others that like fanfics. When I wrote this chap up in my notebook I only got as far as Duo saying "The one and only" and from there I wrote everything else in this chap. as it is now. Personally I like how it came out. I know that it may seem a bit rushed (especially with Duo and Rhea) and I agree with anyone who thinks this a well since I don't want you all to think I'm oblivous to the obvious when it's staring me in the face. Interestingly enough, Duo's actually easy to write as a character (hopefully he wasn't so OOC if he was. If he's even OOC at all in this chap, I'm really, really, really, really sorry! XD). No seriously! He's easy to write in a fanfic since he's a character everyone can relate to at times. Well, anyways! Please remember to review and if you have any ideas you wanna suggest for the next chap (or future chaps) feel free to share and I'll give you credit (since I believe in giving credit where credit is due). :)


	5. Chapter 5

ATE: I can't believe it took me so long to update this story. It took me time to just get an idea as to what would happen and then how it should happen as well. I actually had wanted to get at least one review for the last chap before I posted chap 5, but since no one did and also the fact that I'll be going to camp four days from now I wanted to get this up before then. But don't worry everyone! I'll be taking a notebook and pencil with me to camp so I can write chap 6 in it and maybe even more than that. But hopefully for now people like this.

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. I only own Rhea and that's it.

* * *

Chapter 5

Duo felt Rhea relax in his hold a few seconds after he responded to what she said. Wondering why this was he looked at her face, only to smile when he saw she was asleep. There she was, his fair maiden, asleep peacefully in his arms. He mentally laughed. To think that she had been so flustered not too long ago because of being in this position. But now she had gotten comfortable to the point that she was asleep.

"Looks like you got a little too comfortable in this position." He said quietly. "Not that I'm complaining."

He held her close to him, careful not to wake her up while doing so. It had surprised Duo when Rhea said she wasn't mad at him. That was the last thing he thought she would do. She was very forgiving despite having every reason not to forgive him. It was then he realized that she needed him and he…needed her…? He could understand why she would need him not only because she lost her mom, but the fact that he was the only person she knew. But then why would he need her? Was it because Rhea was able to understand him and even sympathize with him? Maybe that was why. She was the first person to get close to him and not get killed. Was this a sign?

Duo's train of thought was interrupted when he heard the door open and looked up to find Quatre walk in. When the blonde saw Rhea asleep with his holding her he blushed lightly, but it soon went away.

"So this is where you've been this whole time." Quatre said quietly, being courteous to the sleeping girl. He started making his way over to the bed before sitting down on it, his eyes softening as he gazed at her. "How is she?"

"She's okay now." Duo replied. "Rhea was fully awake instead of being half asleep like all those times she woke up. Able to hold a conversation and eat breakfast before falling asleep."

"Why do I have the feeling there's more to it than what you've told me?"

"Okay, okay! You caught me." Duo grinned. "Getting her to eat breakfast wasn't exactly a walk in the park."

"How can it be hard for her to eat when she's able to feed herself?" Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Was there something wrong?"

"Nope! She was capable of feeding herself, but I didn't let her. I just chose to spoon feed her instead. Although she didn't like the idea at first and I had to switch to Plan B."

"Plan B? What was that?"

"Having her in the position she's in now while I fed her, but more upright than we are now. I got her to eat after a bit of coaxing."

"And you thought that was a more reasonable way of doing?

"At least it got the job done!"

Duo looked down at Rhea and his grin changed into a small smile. Quatre was able to catch the look in his friend's eyes and smiled.

"You really care about her." He stated.

"Now what gave you that impression, Quatre?" Duo asked, feigning ignorance.

"I think you know the answer to that, Duo."

"Humor me, then."

"You take it upon yourself to care for her and are even protective of her as well."

"I feel like she's my responsibility now that her mom's gone."

"You don't have to be the only one responsible for her. We're here to help as well, but I guess she trusts you more than me and the others. You are her boyfriend, after all."

"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"After having watched you two kiss at Daily Grind? Not really." Quatre smiled. "Be glad it was me and not Heero, Trowa, or Wufei."

"Good point." Duo groaned when he realized something. "Speaking about responsibility, I just remembered my other job at the scrap yard back on L2. I know I've got to get back eventually, but I don't wanna leave Rhea here."

'_The joys and wonders of having two jobs!_' Duo thought sarcastically.

"Maybe she could live with you."

"What?" Duo's head shot in Quatre's direction, his eye's wide. "Have her live with me?"

"Yes." The blonde nodded his head. "You could stay here with her until her left arm is finally healed and then taken her back to L2 with you." (AN: Hey, that rhymed!)

Duo thought about Quatre's suggestion. He lived in his own apartment after he saved up enough money while working at the scrap yard, having still lived with Hilde during that time. Even after he moved into his own place he and Hilde still hung out with each other as if the move never occurred. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Rhea live with him, and maybe she could hang out with Hilde while she helped her adjust to life on the colony.

"That might not be a bad idea, Quatre." Duo admitted.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if it were." Quatre stood up and started making his way to the door. "I'm going to tell the others that I found you. See you next time, Duo."

With that Quatre left the room. Duo started at the wooden door for a while before glancing down at Rhea's sleeping form. He closed his eyes as he let out a yawn, trying to stifle. Maybe he would take a nap.

"A nap doesn't sound so bad." He said to himself quietly before closing his eyes.

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My mind started to become aware as I started to wake up. Feeling slightly groggy, I opened my eyes to find that I was still in the bedroom I fell asleep in. I felt warmth surround me and that I was resting against something warm as well. It was then that I remembered what happened before I fell asleep and that I asked Duo to stay with me. I turned my head to look over my left shoulder and found that he was behind me, but his eyes were closed as he slept peacefully. Even in his sleep the braided man still held me close.

'_I guess you fell asleep sometime after me._' I thought.

I leaned my head on Duo's right shoulder before turning to face him. My nose accidentally brushed against his neck and I felt the arms around me tightened briefly, followed by a muffled giggle that I almost missed since it was so quiet. I lifted my head up and glanced at Duo's face to see the corners of his mouth were slightly curved in a small smile.

"I know you're awake." I told him.

I knew Duo heard me and was choosing to pretend to be asleep. I continued to stare at his face until an idea came into my head, causing me to smirk. I had to twist my upper half around a bit (as best I could while he held me in his "sleep") and tilting my head upwards before I brought my face closer to his. I placed a kiss on his lips and just as I assumed Duo responded a few seconds later with his own. But I didn't expect what happened next. My eyes widened when he suddenly flipped me over until I ended up being pinned down by his body on the bed, never once breaking the kiss we were in. I found myself closing my eyes and gave in. After awhile Duo pulled away and I opened my eyes to meet the sight of cobalt blue eyes gazing down at me, his braided hair hanging over his shoulder and falling onto the mattress of the bed.

"I knew it." I said breathlessly.

"Knew what?" Duo asked, giving me a mischievous smirk.

"I knew you were awake. You where just pretending to be asleep."

"Are you sure about that or is your mind playing tricks on you, fair maiden?"

"I'm sure."

"Prove it." He whispered, bringing his face closer to mine and leaving only a few inches between us.

My face heated up as my heart started to beat faster from how close Duo was to my face and I could feel his warm breath on my skin, causing me to shiver. I knew he noticed since his smirk got bigger. I felt as if I had been cornered and I couldn't escape.

"You responded to when I kissed you." I told him. "Can you get off me now?"

"No."

"Why?" My eyes widened.

"Because I haven't repaid the favor."

With that Duo kissed me for a few seconds. When the kiss ended he rolled off me so that he laid next to me. I took this chance to sit up before swinging my legs over the side of the bed and getting up.

"Where are you going?" Duo asked.

"To the bathroom." I replied, turning to face him. "I want to get a shower."

"Do you need any help getting one?"

I felt my face heat up from his question.

"N-no! I don't need helping getting a shower! You can just stay here!"

What a pervert! I made my way over to the door that I assumed what the bathroom and opened it to find…the bathroom. I closed and locked the door behind me so that Duo couldn't get inside before looking around. The bathroom was so nice looking and big! I could see the shower, along with a bathtub, a toilet, and a sink. There were plenty of clean towels on a shelf and I took one of them along with a wash cloth before making my way over to the shower. I took out the hair tie and started undoing my braid that was now messy when I suddenly heard a knock on the bathroom door, which caused me to look at it.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" I heard Duo's voice ask.

"I told you that I don't need help! You just stay behind that door!"

I turned back to the shower before twisting the knob to start the water, striping my clothes off (having some difficulty doing so because of the cast I had) and stepping in. I sighed when I felt the warm water before grabbing the wash cloth, but then I realized my dilemma: I couldn't use my left arm and only had my right arm to use. Crap! I had to set the cloth down so I could pick up the soap and scrubbed it onto the cloth I had on placed on the ground to get some suds on it. When I was satisfied with the amount of suds I had I placed the bar of soap on the soap stand before picking up the wash cloth. Let me tell you right now that trying to clean yourself using only one arm is really hard. You don't believe me? Then go try it yourself. You'll understand what it's like when you do. After having finally washing myself with only one arm I looked around and saw the shampoo and conditioner, but I knew I wouldn't be able to wash my hair with only one arm.

"Dammit." I groaned.

I turned off the water and I shivered from the absence of the warm water, although the water that got inside my cast felt weird. I dried myself off with the towel as best as I could with only one arm before stepping out. Since I didn't have any other clothes to wear I was forced to get the ones I wore back on. I glanced back at the wooden door and groaned as I realized what I was about to do before walking over to the door.

"Duo?" I called.

"Yes?" I heard him answer back.

"I need help."

"Hah! I knew you would be asking for my help sooner or later!" I had a feeling that he was smirking. "Open the door so I can come in." I unlocked the door and opened it to find Duo standing right outside it with a smirk. I moved out of the way so he could walk before he turned to face me. "So what do you need help with, Rhea?"

"I need help with washing my hair…" I said quietly, hanging my head to avoid looking at his face.

I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder, causing me to look up at Duo's face. The smirk was gone and had been replaced with a smile.

"That won't be a problem." He said before guiding me over to the sink. I stood at the sink as he grab a chair and brought it over to where I was, placing it with the back up against it. "You just sit here and wait for me."

I sat down just like he told me and I watched him go over to the shower to retrieve the shampoo and conditioner before going over to the shelf to get a new towel. Once he had all this Duo came back over to me and placed the hair products on the counter.

"You're really going to do this?" I asked.

"Yep!"

I glanced at his face and saw the grin he had on.

"You wanted to do this."

"Sure did!"

Duo turned on the water so that it was warm and started soaking my hair in it. Once my hair was completely wet he grabbed the shampoo and it took all my will power not to sigh when he started scrubbing it into my hair. After rinsing out the suds he started scrubbing the conditioner in before turning off the water so that it could sit in.

"I have a question for you." Duo suddenly said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"What do you think about coming to live with me at my place?"

"What?" I looked at him, my eyes wide in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." I saw the serious look on Duo's face and I knew he wasn't joking.

"You really want me to live with you?"

"It's your choice. I'm only offering." He shrugged. "I'll give you time to think about it."

"How long do I have?" I was curious.

"Until your arms is healed. I have another job back on L2, but I'm staying here until your casts off before going back."

"Why are you offering?"

"Because I really don't want to leave you by yourself. There's really no other place to go besides stay here in this mansion and I'm really the only person you know here."

What he said was true. He was the only person I knew here. I thought about his offer and it didn't take me long to choose.

"I'll live with you." I said.

"Really? You will?" Duo smiled.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Great! Thanks!"

Duo pecked my cheek before turning the water back on to rinse the conditioner out of my hair. I knew he was very excited that I decided to come live with him and I had a feeling he had wanted me to accept. I knew he was finished with washing my hair since he turned off the water before coming to stand in front of me.

"C'mon, Rhea. Time to get up." He said, grinning.

Duo grabbed my good arm and pulled me out of the chair I was sitting in. He started guiding me over to the soft rug on the floor and had me sit down on it before he went off again. He soon came back with the towel and a brush, sitting down behind me before he started drying my hair with the towel. Duo took the towel off once it was dry, but then I blushed when I felt him running the brush through my hair.

"Okay, Duo! You really don't need to brush my hair!" I said. "I only needed you to help me wash it!"

"I know. But remember what I told you back in Daily Grind: anything for the fair maiden."

As much as I hated to admit it I actually enjoyed having Duo brush my hair. It felt so nice. After awhile I felt him separate my hair into three sections before he started to braid it.

"I'm not used to being pampered. First you spoon feed me, then you wash my hair, and now you've brushed it and are braiding it. What're you going to do next? Carry me around everywhere?"

"Hmm… Having thought of that yet, but that's a good idea! Thanks for giving it to me!"

"Crap! Me and my big mouth! Remind me to never give you any ideas! In fact, forget the one I just told you!"

"No. I think I'll actually go with that idea."

I felt Duo finish off braiding my hair and I started to get up to leave the bathroom. I let out an '_eep' _when I was scooped up and held bridal style by him before carrying me out of the bathroom.

"Duo! Duo, please put me down!" I cried, my face seeming to heat up to 100 degrees.

"Not a chance." He grinned.

"Whatever happened to 'anything for the fair maiden'?"

"I may have said that, but the God of Death didn't."

Duo started chuckling and my eyes widened after what he said…and the fact that he was heading for the door that lead out of the bedroom!

"That's not fair!"

"It's implied that life isn't fair."

"But seriously! Please put me down! Please!" Duo took used one of his hands to open the wooden door. I felt shocked and embarrassed as he started walking down the hallway. "I can't believe you're actually going to do this!"

"Like it or not, I'm going through with it, babe."

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ATE: And that's chap 5 with the oh so dreaded cliffhanger. I know that I stated at the end of chap 4 that the relationship is rushed, but I couldn't think of anything to fix it. I bet everyone's happen to finally see Quatre in the story. Please remember to review and even give me ideas for any future chaps. I have told you all before that I'd give credit to anyone who gave me ideas in their reviews. So please remember to do so.


	6. Chapter 6

ATE: Here I go again, taking a long time to update this story. I finally finished this one under the strict eyes and supervision of my Editoress (if any of you have read my Xenosaga series so far, you should know about her). She literally kept telling me to keep writing whenever I got distracted or side-tracked (yesterday and today). Hopefully, if you're reading this Editoress, I have a feeling that you're laughing as I type this introduction up and will most likely comment on it eventually. And hopefully you'll be satisfied with this chap (despite having a bit of a preview of it before I started finishing it in your almighty presence). As for camp, one word to describe my whole week there: Torture. I was constantly going up and down steep hills so many times in one day and it didn't help that our camping area was up the hill while the shower house was all the way down the very long hike of a hill. Enough about me ranting here. Go and read this chap!

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Daily Grind. I only own Rhea.

PS: Hopefully none of the Gundam Wing characters are OOC here. If they are, please tell me.

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Chapter 6

I was extremely embarrassed and horrified of my predicament. Here I was being carried bridal style by Duo as he made his way down the short hallway. The hallway took a turn to the right and he immediately stopped in front of the first door on the left. I was confused. Why did he stop here?

"See this door, Rhea? This leads to my room." Duo said.

"So why are you telling me this?" I asked, looking at him.

"Oh, I think you can figure out a few good reasons." He smirked as he gazed down at me.

I gasped at what he said but then narrowed my eyes.

"Pervert!"

"You said it, not me." Duo started walking down the hallway. "And I wasn't implying _that_."

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment because of my stupidity and I wanted to hide under a rock. Sadly, no rock (although it wasn't like I would be capable of hiding under one), but I did find something. My face got warmer when I realized what I was going to do. I buried my face into Duo's chest, shutting my eyes tightly as my blushing got worse. I felt him vibrate as he laughed.

"I know you're blushing, but you do realize that'll only make it worse."

"I'm only doing this to hide my face!" I said, my voice slightly muffled by Duo's shirt.

"I prefer seeing your face instead of you hiding it." He told me. "C'mon! Show your face! Don't you want to see where we're going?" Reluctantly, I pulled my face away from Duo's chest before lifting it up, only to see him smiling warmly at me. "There's the face of my fair maiden."

I blushed as I tilted my head downwards to look at the floor, but I had a small smile while I did this. I turned my head in the direction we were going to see us approaching a grand staircase.

"Wait! Where are we going?" I asked.

"To introduce you to the others."

"But I already know them."

"You may know who they are, but have you met them in person?"

"No."

"My point exactly!"

Once we reached the bottom of the stairs Duo carried me over to a set of double wooden doors. He shifted me a bit in his arms in an attempt to open one of the doors, but he wasn't able to get a hand free without dropping me. This lead him to resort to using his feet.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Duo called as he knocked on the door with his foot (in other words, kicking it lightly). "A little help would be appreciated!"

If this had been an anime (no pun) and I had been watching it at home on TV I would've laughed, but at this time I didn't. It was quiet for awhile before the door opened, revealing a boy the same age as Duo with dark brown hair and Prussian blue eyes, wearing a green tank top and black spandex shorts. I knew right away who it was.

"Heero, buddy! Thanks for opening the door!" Duo said cheerfully.

"Hn." Was all the perfect soldier said before walking off, leaving the door open so we could come in.

Duo carried me into the room and I saw that the other Gundam pilots were inside. I could see Heero sitting on a couch that was facing the doors that we came through with a laptop on his lap as he typed furiously at the keys. I couldn't believe the speed he was typing at. Was it even humanly possible? Anyways, I spotted Trowa sitting next to Quatre on another couch to my left, the latter holding a cup that I assumed had tea in it (if the tray and pot on the coffee table in the middle of the three couches wasn't proof enough). And last but not least was Wufei leaning against the wall nearby with his arms crossed over his chest. Overall, they (minus Heero) were staring at me from where they were in the room, causing me to feel a little uneasy from the attention. And it didn't help that the Chinese boy was giving me a look that seemed to say 'I'm more superior than you.' I gulped. Yep, definitely.

"Let me introduce you to everyone! You already know Heero, since he answered the door. The two over on the couch are Trowa and Quatre, and the brooding guy leaning against the wall is Wuffles."

"Don't call me that, Maxwell!" Wufei snapping.

I knew that Duo heard what Wufei said, but it was obvious that he was ignoring him. I had a feeling I would be sweatdropping right now. Anyways, Duo started carrying me over to the couch that wasn't occupied and I was surprise (and happy to the point that I thought I heard the heavenly chorus in my head) when he placed me on it before sitting down next to me (on my left) instead of having to hold me. That was until he decided to draped his arm around my shoulder, causing me to blush. Dammit…

"I'm Rhea." I managed to say without stuttering. I looked around at the other pilots before my eyes widened in realization! "Wait a minute! I've seen you all before! I saw Trowa in the park playing the flute- by the way you play nice." I got a nod from Trowa, letting me know he acknowledged the compliment. "I also saw Wufei at the movie theater, and…" I trailed off when I looked at Heero and Quatre. "Uh…I didn't see Heero or Quatre."

"Actually, you did see me." Quatre said.

"I did? When and where?" I was confused. What did Quatre…

"It was at the Daily Grind. I was the one reading the newspaper."

"Oh ye-" I stopped myself when I realized what the blonde said and I could feel my face heat up even more. "Oh crap…!" I groaned. I could see that Quatre was blushing but it was barely noticeable.

"Baka onna…"

My head whipped in Wufei's direction and I narrowed my eyes. I even felt my eye twitch slightly.

"What did you call me?" I asked, my voice sounding low.

"I called you-"

"Did you call me 'baka onna'?" I shot out of my seat and I heard Duo give off a complaint about me getting up (and the fact that he liked his arm being around my shoulders), but it was short lived.

"Wait! You know what he said?" Duo asked me.

"Of course I do! He just called me a 'stupid woman'!"

"What?"

"Well, it's true. Women are weak."

That's it! The next thing I knew I rammed my fist into Wufei's face and watched as he fell to the floor. Now before you start to worry I had in fact used my good arm (the one that wasn't in the stupid cast) when pulling off this feat. Let me say right now, it felt good.

"Weren't you ever told 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'? How do you like me now?"

"Okay, Rhea! That's enough excitement for now!" Duo exclaimed worriedly as I felt a pair of arms hold me back. "We don't need to break the other arm too!"

"Indeed." I heard Heero said. Wow! That's got to be the first thing I've heard him say all day besides 'hn'.

"So, Rhea. Do you like music?"

I turned my head to face Quatre, who was standing up from the couch he had been sitting on when I last saw him, my anger towards Wufei forgotten at the moment.

"Of course I like music. I listen to almost any kind of music." I said. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you would like to come with me and Trowa to the music room." Quatre offered. "You know, to listen and relax."

"Sure I would! I'll come!" I was about to follow Quatre and Trowa out the door when I remembered something. The fact that the arms that had been holding me back and- "Duo! Put me down now!"

You guessed it; Duo had in fact picked me up and was carrying me bridal style as he went out the door. Again. And right when I thought that he wouldn't do it anymore!

"How 'bout no." Duo said as he moved up the staircase.

"What?"

"Consider it punishment for what you did a few minutes ago."

"Is this because I punched Wufei in the face?" I asked.

"Nope!"

"Then what?"

"For snapping at me."

"Oh, come on! You've got to be kidding! That isn't fair!"

"Now, Rhea. What did I tell you about fairness?"

"…Dammit…" I groaned, hanging my head in shame.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you?"

"…Nothing, Duo…"

I was so distracted in my thoughts (with all the embarrassing things I'm going through right now, you might already have an idea of what I'm thinking) that I didn't realize that we reached the music room until I heard the sound of a door closing behind us. I looked around the room and was surprised at the size of it. I spotted a grand piano near the window that allowed the sunlight to come in, along with a few violin cases (yes there was more than one), flutes, cellos leaning again stands (of course), and many other instruments that I couldn't began to describe or that I didn't know what they are (seriously, I'm surprised by the number he has of everything here. Was Quatre trying to create his own symphony orchestra or something?)! Talk about an overwhelming amount of musical instruments. I was pulled away from my thoughts on the many instruments when Duo started moving again and I saw that he was carrying me over to on of the couches (I forgot to mention those, there are about three of them by the way) before sitting down with me-

'_Dear god! When will the torture end?_' I thought pitifully as my face heated up to 100 degrees (to me). Now I bet you're wondering why I thought this. That would be because I was being forced to sit in Duo's lap! Of all the times he could have chosen to do this he just had to do it in front of the guys, or in this case Quatre and Trowa. Scratch that! The fact that he was even doing this in the first place was embarrassing! Why did he have to torture me like this? With the way things are going, he'll look for any excuse to supposedly 'punish' me (I use the term loosely, very, very loosely). How long will this- '_Oh hell no!'_ As you guessed Duo did something again…wrapping his arms around my waist! There was no hope of trying to escape now! I really wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

"Any requests, Rhea?" Quatre asked as he and Trowa picked up a violin and flute respectfully.

"You want me to choose?" I asked, completely surprised at the idea.

"Of course! You are a guest here."

"Uh…um…anything's fine."

"It's good to know you're not picky." Trowa said.

"I can't believe it!" Duo exclaimed. "You actually got Trowa to say something today!"

Okay. I'm going to try and ignore Duo…who am I kidding? That isn't going to work because of the fact that I'm sitting on his lap! There's my idea thrown out the window. Anyways, I watched as Quatre and Trowa got their instruments ready before beautiful music started flowing from the objects they held in their hands (AN: I'm not going to say what they're playing, so I'm leaving that to everyone's imagination). I was so absorbed in listening to the two pilots play that I felt myself relax and foudn myself leaning back against Duo. My thoughts started to drift until they settled on my memory of Mom and Dad and the time I spent with them before… Before Dad…and Mom…

"What's wrong, Rhea?"

I turned to look at Duo and could see the concern in his eyes. And speaking about eyes I realized that I had been crying.

"It's nothing." I lied, trying to convince him that nothing was wrong. "It's just the music's really pretty, that's all."

"Okay."

I returned to watching the guys play as I tried to hide what I was really feeling. What was wrong with me? I thought I was done crying for both Mom and Dad's death. Dad died about a year ago and Mom's death was only a few days recent. I could understand crying for her, but crying for Dad? I didn't get it! It feels as if they just both died a few minutes ago at the same time. I told myself I had to be strong for both of them, but it was starting to become harder than I thought.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I was back in the room I had slept in while staying in Quatre's mansion (despite having been asleep most of my stay). Let me summarize the things that happened that you all missed. It was after being in the music room listening to Quatre and Trowa play that we had dinner (and the fact that Duo carried me around everywhere), which had been awkwardly quiet at some points and Wufei glaring at me most of the time (most likely because I punched him). Afterwards Quatre was kind enough to lend me a pair of Pjs for me to sleep in (they were a little baggy but they still fit) and I was really grateful to him for that. That's everything in a nutshell. Did I mentioned Duo carried me around everywhere? I did? Oh well, I mentioned it twice then.

So now you know what happened since then. And here I am by myself in my room. That's right! Duo wasn't with me (which I was really grateful about) and went to sleep in his own room. I turned the light off on the lamp sitting on the nightstand before getting settled in my bed, leaving my room dark. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take me, but an hour later…

_BBBOOOOOOOMMMM!_

I shot up in an upright position, my eyes widened in fear. I could feel my heart hammering against my ribcage and my body started trembling. The room suddenly flashed before I heard the loud booming sound of thunder, causing me to jump and my breathing to become rapid.

"Mom…Dad…" I whimpered quietly, my eyes shut tight in fear.

I was alone and scared inside this dark room. I'm starting to wish Duo hadn't left… I lifted my head up to look at my door and I remembered what he told me when showing me where his room was. Should I go? It would be a lot better than being alone. I pulled the covers away from me before getting out of my bed, my movements slow and unsure. I had managed to reach the door before slowly opening it and looking down the hallway that seemed to be longer than it really was. It seemed to stretched on for miles and made me feel intimidated. I gulped before I started walking down the hallway, the lightning and thunder occasionally going off causing me to jump and it took all my willpower to resist screaming. After what felt like hours I found myself standing outside the door to Duo's room, staring at it as I suddenly started to have second thoughts. What if he was asleep and got angry at me for waking him up? What if…?

'_Stop thinking like that, Rhea!_' I thought to myself. '_You don't know that._'

I lifted up a shaky hand in order to grasp the doorknob. Okay, now to open it. I slowly turned the knob before cracking the door open in order to peek inside. As best as I could in the dark I was able to make out Duo's sleeping form on his bed. So he was asleep. Should I go inside? I slowly opened the door and walked in before closing it behind me. I tried to be as quiet as I could as I slowly made my way over to the bed and it wasn't until I was a few feet away from it that I started to hesitate, feeling unsure about what I was about to do.

'_I…_' I shut my eyes tightly as my body shook. '_I-I can't…! I can't do it…!_'

"Rhea?"

My eyes shot open and my breath caught in my throat when I saw Duo gazing back at me with a confused look. It seemed liked I couldn't talk. I watched as he moved around until he sat on the side of his bed looking at me. From what I was able to make out I could see that he wore a tank top and sweatpants.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"I… I…" I tried to say.

_BBBOOOOOOOMMMM!_

I cried out in fright before crouching on the floor in front of Duo. Not only was I shaking uncontrollably but I started crying as well. I felt him wrap his arms around me before pulling me up from the floor, having me sit in his lap as he sat on his bed. He held me close while letting me cry into his chest. Normally I would've been blushing like crazy with the position I was in, but this was a different case.

"What's wrong, Rhea? You're shaking like crazy."

"I'm…I'm scared of thunder…" I whimpered as I continued to cry. "I'm scared…"

"You have astraphobia?" I felt Duo's hold tighten slightly around me before placing a hand on the back of my head. All I could do was nod my head since I didn't trust my own voice yet. "Why are you scared?"

"I…it happened when I was little…and I was on a camping trip with Mom and Dad… It had been the second one I'd been on at that time… It was dark when it started raining and we were running back to our camp…and I got separated from them… I tried looking for them, but I only got more lost in the woods…and I was so scared… There was a thunderstorm…it lasted all night… It seemed like I was out there forever until they found me… They found me under a tree that had been…it was stroke multiple times by lightning… We didn't know about the thunderstorm since we forgot to watch the weather channel… I was so scared… I was so scared…"

"It's okay, Rhea. It's okay." I heard him whisper to me reassuringly. "You can stay here tonight. Would you like?"

He was offering to let me stay with him tonight? I was about to voice my answer but I settled with nodding instead. That was all Duo needed to know before pulling away a bit and helping me to stand up from the bed. He helped in getting me into bed before getting in as well and we found ourselves facing each other as we lay on our side. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him, causing me to be surrounded in warmth. The sound of thunder suddenly went off and I found myself clinging to Duo with only my right hand as I started trembling again with my eyes shut tightly.

"It's okay, Rhea… You're safe… I'll protect you…"

I opened my eyes, surprised by what Duo said and lifted my head up to look at him.

"Really? You will?" I asked quietly.

I was surprised when Duo placed a kiss on my forehead before placing a hand behind my head and pulled it closer to his chest.

"Yeah… I promise… Anything for the fair maiden…" I heard him let out a sigh in content as he held me. "You know what's good about living in a space colony?"

"What?"

"There aren't any thunderstorms. Sure there's rain, but no thunderstorms."

I couldn't help but laugh quietly because of that.

"I'm looking forward to going then… Thank you, Duo…"

"Anytime, fair maiden. Anytime."

My eyes drooped closed as the warmth around me helped to lull me to sleep. I felt safe in Duo's arms and I knew that I would always feel like this. I guess I'm glad that he was there for me despite all the things he does that make me feel embarrassed. I was so happy that I felt tears start to fall from my eyes. The last thing I was aware of was Duo shifting around a bit before lightly kissing my tears away before I fell asleep.

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ATE: That it for chap 6. I hope everybody liked it. Okay, I wanna state something right now. I've noticed that there have been a lot of people favoriting this story and putting it on their Story Alerts, but what I'm trying to say is that no one has review chap 4 or 5, despite all the hits to those chaps. Usually I would've waited to have a least 1 review before posting the next chap, but since that hasn't been happening lately, that actually make me worried. I don't know how much I need to emphasis on the fact of people not reviewing, and if I've offended someone by stating this, I'm say right now that I'm sorry.

But yes, please, please, please remember to review. And as you've all noticed in at the end of each chap of this story so far that I've stated that anyone's more than welcome to give me ideas for any future chaps of this story and I will give credit to those who give out any ideas. Just place your idea(s) in your review.

PS: Also, ever since 3 days ago, I've been thinking of changing Estelle's name to Rhea. So I'll start a poll here if anyone wants me to do this. What do any of you think?


	7. Chapter 7

ATE: I am really, really, really sorry for taking so long to update this story. Do you know how many pages this chap was in microsoft word document? It was a total of 24 pages long! And not to mention it took weeks to just finish this. This is officially the longest chap in this story so far. I'm gonna have to thank Zeltrax541, the kid, Zyiera, and EDITORESS for reviewing chap 6. As for who EDITORESS is, she's my editoress that I've mentioned before. She helps motivate me and makes sure I focus on writing this chap while destroying any distractions that get in my way. And I know she'll like this chap.

Declaimer: I know for certain that I don't own Gundam Wing, iPod, Spongebob, Loony Toons, Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron, Denny's, Euros, the Gundam History III soundtrack, the song 'Dreams', the Gundam Wing Episode Zero manga, Dial Soap, and Axe. But I know for sure that I own my OC Rhea.

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Chapter 7

It had been four weeks since I've woken up in Quatre's mansion and my left arm was finally free of the cast it had been in. During the time I spent living with the other pilots they had warmed up to me…well, Wufei still held me in slight contempt after I punched him (no surprise there). Heero and Trowa were quiet, but on rare occasions I was able to get a few words out of them. Quatre had to be the kindest person I've met so far and Duo had been right about him being like Mom. They were so similar that sometimes it was hard for me to be around him without being reminded of her, but I somehow managed to keep it together despite the feelings of nostalgia. Whenever Quatre and Trowa played music they always invited me to come and listen, which I would agree to do so. As for Duo…well, you already know how things are between us. He spent most of his time around me and the only times he wasn't around me were when I was in the bathroom (which included everything that I did while in there) and when I slept at night (there hadn't been any more thunderstorms since that first night). I was eventually given back my walking privileges, but sometimes he would still carry me around. And here's the funny thing. It turns out that Duo had kept my iPod from me while I was still unconscious, but he gave it back to me, making me a slightly happier person at the thought of listening to my favorite songs. At one point I learned that this world (or universe) wasn't the same one that I came from. My confusion had been so obvious that they had to explain that the place we were in and the place I was from were completely different dimensions.

At the moment I was sitting on the bottom step of the grand stairs staring at the floor as I waited for Duo to finish packing his stuff and (from what he told me) some other things so that it'll be ready when we leave. Melancholy. That's how I felt right now. I bet you're wondering why I was feeling this way. I placed my face in my hands while my elbows were propped on my lap as I remembered what happened yesterday.

_**(~*~Yesterday~*~)**_

_**I sat next to Duo on the couch as we watched the TV in the entertainment room of the mansion. He had his arm draped around my shoulders as I leaned against him. Yeah, that's right! I was LEANING on him and doing it willingly, too! I had gotten used to him doing this, but I was still working on getting used to the other things as well (like sitting on his lap, which was still one of his many ways of making me blush). As for what we were watching on TV…it was Spongebob! I know! I was surprised too when I first started watching TV with Duo during the first week of my stay when I saw the yellow talking sponge on the screen. He laughed at my reaction but we still chose to watch it. Since I just got my cast off (I immediately made a bee-line for the bathroom to take a shower due to my arm smelling horrible) Duo had told me we'd be leaving tomorrow after lunch (knowing him, he probably wanted an excuse to have a few more meals before then). **_

"_**How are we getting to L2, anyways?" I asked when there were commercials being aired on TV.**_

"_**We'll be getting there in Deathscythe. How else?" Duo replied.**_

_**I let my gaze drop to the floor as I remembered that day when I first saw Deathscythe Hell. That was the day Mom died. I couldn't help but wonder…how could someone as cheerful as Duo pilot something so grim as his Gundam? Even if his cheerfulness was a mask most of the time I still couldn't grasp the concept. **_

"_**Wouldn't that be…you know." I started.**_

"_**Know what?"**_

"_**I guess what I'm trying to say is are you sure you should be using your Gundam as a form of transportation?"**_

"_**It's either that or using it for a battle that might never happen." If only he knew what would happen when the Mariemaia Incident took place. Talk about foreshadowing. "Besides, I can't leave my buddy here." I heard him chuckle. "Looks like Spongebob's back on!"**_

_**I looked up at the TV screen and just like Duo said Spongebob was back on. As I watched I couldn't help but think about that day Mom died and I saw the Gundams for the first time. As I continued thinking about it a sudden thought came into my head.**_

"_**Why am I here…?" I thought out loud.**_

"_**Huh?" I heard Duo say in confusion. "Rhea?"**_

_**I pulled my eyes away from the screen to look up at Duo's face. **_

"_**Why am I here?" I repeated, this time my question directed at him. "Why was I brought here?"**_

_**I noticed that Duo seemed to be a little uneasy by my question. **_

"_**Uh…that's…" It was as if he was trying to find the right words to say, but failing. "You…might wanna ask Heero about that."**_

_**Something was wrong. I could tell. There was something that Duo was hiding from me, but seemed hesitant to tell me, as if whatever he was hiding might be too painful to say out loud. I knew that if I wanted to know whatever it was he's hiding I'd have to talk to Heero. I got off the couch I had been sitting on and started making my way out of the room in order to look for the Perfect Soldier. I heard the sound of footsteps follow from behind me, but at a hurried pace in order to catch up with me.**_

**_"Rhea_!**_**" Duo called from behind me. "Where are you going?" **_

_**I stopped walking and just stood were I was, letting the braided man catch up to me.**_

"_**I'm going to talk to Heero." I told him, letting my gaze fall to the floor. "I have so many question now concerning that day. I want-" I shook my head. "No! I need answers. I need to know why I'm here. Why I'm in this dimension and not in the one I'm from. I need to know…" **_

_**I felt something warm grasp my hand and looked down to find it being held by a hand I knew belonged to Duo. I turned a bit so I could look at him and I could see the concern on his face as well as his eyes. I always felt guilty whenever he gave me that look. I know he had every right to be concerned about me, but that didn't stop me from feeling guilty about it. I felt like I didn't deserve it, but here he was showing concern. **_

"_**Are you sure you want to know the truth?" He asked. "What if it isn't what you want to hear?"**_

"_**Then I better start listening." I gave him a smile, but it felt fake to me. I wonder if he could tell it was fake? "Can you keep holding my hand? At least until we get there?"**_

"_**Yeah. Anything for the fair maiden." His voice was soft as he said this. "C'mon."**_

_**Duo started guiding me to wherever Heero was. I glance down at our hands and couldn't help but blush. It was such a simple thing. Holding someone's hand. One simple gesture that had multiple meanings to it. Some meanings being that of friendship, affection, security…those were some I could think of off the top of my head. I knew it wasn't the first one since we were more than friends. Duo made sure to remind me of that by calling me his girlfriend. But the reason why I wanted to hold his hand right now…I think it was because I needed to feel a sense of security, even if it was a small amount.**_

_**We arrived sooner than I wanted to outside the living room (which was where I first 'met' the others). As much as I didn't want to I had to let go of Duo's hand before we went inside. I could see that not only Heero was inside (on his laptop), but Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were here as well. They noticed that Duo and I had entered and everyone (except Mr. Perfect Soldier) looked up at us. The blonde pilot was the first to speak.**_

"_**Oh! Hi Duo, Rhea." Quatre greeted. "How was the TV? Anything good come on?"**_

"_**Not much." Duo answered, plopping down on the free couch in a casual manner. I sat down next to him. "But we still had fun watching Spongebob! Isn't that right, Rhea?"**_

"_**Huh?" I was surprised, but I quickly managed to cover it up. "Of course."**_

_**I was confused. Not too long ago Duo had been worrying over me and now he was cheerful and acting like our discussion in the hallway never occurred. What was he trying to do?**_

"_**Of course. Watching cartoons. Why am I not surprised, Maxwell?" Wufei scoffed.**_

"_**There's nothing wrong with watching cartoons, Wuffles!"**_

"_**Yes there is. They're completely pointless and a waste of time. And you're too old to be watching cartoons, anyways."**_

"_**Hey! You're never too old to watch cartoons!" I said.**_

"_**Stay out of this, onna!" Wufei warned.**_

"_**She's got a point." Duo stated. "Don't you know that cartoons can actually teach people lessons?"**_

"_**What? Like teaching people how to be idiots?"**_

"_**No! They teach lessons like morals and such."**_

"_**Hn. I fail to see how a coyote chasing a road runner and falling off a cliff can teach others about moral."**_

"_**That's because Loony Toons can be confusing sometimes." I said.**_

"_**See? Rhea's backing me up on this. You're clearing outnumbered in your opinion!"**_

_**I couldn't help but laugh at this, but my laughter was short-lived when I remembered why I was in this room in the first place. I set my gaze on Heero and took a deep breath. This was it.**_

"_**Heero. I have questions." I said. **_

_**Everyone was quiet and the only sound that I could still hear was the **_**taping **_**sound of Heero typing, but that too came to a halt. I watched as he gazed back at me and I knew that it was a sign for me to continue.**_

"_**Why am I here? In this dimension and not the one I'm from?"**_

"_**You know how the five of us represented each space colony during Operation Meteor?" Heero asked. **_

_**I nodded; of course I knew! What Gundam Wing fan didn't know that? **_

"_**What does Operation Meteor have to do with my questions?"**_

"_**You were supposed to represent your dimension in the war if things got out of hand."**_

_**I stared at Heero. I blinked once… twice….three times. Then I laughed. I laughed as if I had just heard a funny joke, earning the confused stares of the others (minus Heero and Trowa since they kept a straight face).**_

"_**That was a nice joke!" I managed to say as I tried to calm down my fit of laughter. "You had me going there for a minute! It almost sounded like you were serious about that!" When I managed to calm down I looked around the room at everyone, expecting to see one of them grinning or at least look as if they were caught with telling the joke. That wasn't what I saw. All of their faces were straight and I could see a sympathetic expression in Quatre's face. I turned to look at Duo's face, seeing if he was in on this joke, but I saw the same look on his face that the blonde pilot had. I turned back to Heero, not believing what I saw on the faces of the other pilots. "You're joking, right? Right?" **_

_**I knew that Heero was the last person to be telling jokes, but I wasn't sure. He just looked at me, his face not betraying any of his emotions.**_

"_**I'm not." He said.**_

_**My eyes widened! He confirmed what I hoped wasn't true. The one thing I thought was a joke was actually the truth?**_

"_**You expect me to believe that I was supposed to represent my dimension during your war?"**_ _**I asked, completely baffled. "Do you realize how much that doesn't make sense? The last time I check I was a normal person, living with my mom, going to school, and watching anime for most of my life. Sure I like watching Gundam Wing and all. Who hasn't?"**_

"_**It's your knowledge of what's happened in this **_**anime**_** that's one of the factors."**_

"_**Well, I'm not the only one that knows about the events that happen in the show. There are actually **_**people**_** around the world that have watched it and know as much as I do about it."**_

"_**You were also meant to pilot a Gundam."**_

"_**Uh…Heero? In case you-as well as everyone else in this room-didn't realize this when you were still in the dimension I came from, we don't have Gundams. Sure there was that life-size Gundam they made in Japan, but it wasn't real. It couldn't even function since it was nothing but a **_**statue**_**. And the fact that I have no experience with guns, let alone only knowing how to punch someone, but not entirely fighting someone with my fists, doesn't help you or anyone! I'm completely inadequate for this! You couldn't have chosen someone else for this job, could you?"**_

"_**You're just making excuses." Heero stated.**_

"_**Making excuses? Making excuses? I'm merely stating that you've got the wrong person for this job! And if I remember correctly from what I've been told these past four weeks, the war is over. There hasn't been any fighting!"**_

'There will be soon._**' I suddenly thought.**_

"_**There's actually a profile on you here stating that you're a candidate for piloting a Gundam. And the Gundam you're supposed to pilot."**_

"_**Oh, so not only am I a pilot, but I also have a Gundam that I wasn't even aware of. But what about what happened to my life four weeks ago and the fact that I was close to getting blown up? Tell me that!"**_

_**I narrowed my eyes at Heero, but the blank expression on his face never changed. Not in the slightest bit. I was getting frustrated with this!**_

"_**As I stated before: there's a profile of you. And the people inside those Mobile Suits that attacked were trying to kill you. They were the ones that sent the bomb you found in that box."**_

"_**Isn't this just great! So I have people trying to kill me and I don't even have a way to defend myself!"**_

"_**That's why we found you when we did." Trowa said. "We were trying to get to you before they figured out where you were. But they caught on sooner than we expected and we had no choice but to act. That's why you're here. We were able to get you out in one piece."**_

"_**What about Mom? Can you say the same about her? Can you?" **_

"_**She died as a casualty of war. Nothing more, nothing less." Heero said.**_

"_**Don't talk about Mom like that!" I shouted as I shot out of my seat. My hands were clenched into fists. "Don't treat her as if she were just a nameless soldier who died on the battlefield!" I bowed my head as I felt my eyes start to water with angry tears, but I refused to let them fall by shutting my eyes tightly. "She was all I had left… She was the only one I had left…when Dad died over in Afghanistan last year…!"**_

_**I heard two gasps coming from Duo and Quatre, and I knew that if I were to look up I would see the indifferent looks on Heero, Trowa, and Wufei's faces. The emotional wound that I've tried to heal after Dad died was just reopened with the reminder of my parents both being dead.**_

_**"Rhea****…**__**" I heard Quatre say with a concerned tone to his voice. "We didn't realize-"**_

"_**Of course you didn't realize!" I interrupted. "It was stupid of me to think Dad was invincible before he left for war. It was only when he died that I realized how important he and Mom were. And then she dies as well."**_

"_**You baka onna!" Wufei growled. "You don't realize how important your pathetic life is, do you?" **_

"_**No, I don't, Wufei!" My head shot in the direct that Wufei was in and I narrowed my eyes. "How about you explain it so that this '**_**stupid woman**_**' can understand?"**_

"_**That bomb that was sent to **_**your **_**home was meant to kill **_**you**_**, regardless if **_**your**_** mom was there or not! They didn't care how many people died as long as they killed **_**you**_**!"**_

_**My eyes widened and took a sharp intake of breath when my mind finally processed what I was just told. I placed a hand over my mouth, choking on the tears I had been trying to hold back this whole time as they fell from my eyes. What I heard was the painful truth and it created another emotional wound that was as strong as the first one.**_

"_**Oh god…" I said quietly. "It's my fault… It's all my fault that Mom died… She died because of me…"**_

"**_Rhea_**_**…" **_

_**This time it was Duo that said my name, but it was faint. I felt him try to grab my hand but I pulled it away from him.**_

"_**I…I need some time alone…"**_

_**With that I ran out of the room, running up the stairs before doing the same down the hallway. I didn't know where I was going and I didn't care where I ended up, as long as it wasn't my room. When I stopped running I found myself inside the library surrounded by books and furniture. I spotted one of the couches in the room before making my way over to it and spreading myself across it as I laid down. I didn't know how much time passed since my mind was still focused on the pain and guilt I felt as I continued crying my heart out. It hurt so much. I hugged a pillow to me and buried my face in it. Over and over my mind kept replaying Wufei's last words like a broken record and only served as a painful reminder. And they expect me to be a Gundam pilot. That meant that if another war started I would be forced to kill people. I know there were those people that I was told were trying to kill me, but I didn't want to kill! Did they really expect me to do that?**_

_**I suddenly felt two arms wrap around my waist before being pulled close to a warm chest. The pillow my face was buried in was taken away only to have a hand placed behind my head that gently pushed it into their chest and allowing me to cry into their shirt. I felt the arms around me pull away, only to feel myself being lifted slightly and something warm slipped underneath me before being lowered again, the arms returning to their previous position and a hand started stroking the hair behind my head, which resulted in a soothing effect. I continued crying into their chest and eventually my tears subsided to a soft sniffle. Then I noticed something. The smell; I knew who this was.**_

"_**Was the fact of you falling in love with me a lie?" I asked, my voice soft as I spoke.**_

"_**No." I heard Duo say, his hand still stroking my hair. "It wasn't a lie. It was real. 100% genuine." **_

"_**Is that why you didn't want to tell me?"**_

"_**Yeah. You were bound to know sooner or later, I just didn't think you were ready to hear it." I felt his arm around my waist tighten a bit in a reassuring way. "The truth ain't what it's cracked up to be. We just learn that the hard way."**_

"_**Maybe I should've listen to you. That way I wouldn't feel this…this pain." I turned my head so that the right side of my face was resting against Duo's chest. I could feel the wetness on his shirt from where I had been crying on earlier. "I know what I'm going to call myself now."**_

"_**What's that?" I could hear the curiosity in his voice.**_

"_**The Angel of Death."**_

_**I heard Duo give off a sharp intake of breath from my answer along with his hold on me tightening again as his body tensed up. I had a feeling that if I saw his face his expression would be that of surprise.**_

"_**No." He said sternly.**_

"_**Why not?" I lifted my head so that I could look at him. His face was set in a slight frown, but other than that no other emotion I could see. His eyes, however, betrayed what he really felt. There was a fierce resolution in his eyes that showed how strong his decision was and how much he opposed the idea of the title. "I lost Dad and I watched Mom die! And it's my fault that she's gone! I'll cause more death if and when I start piloting a Gundam!"**_

"_**But that isn't who you are, Rhea. Just because you lost your parents doesn't make you the Angel of Death. Far from it. You are an angel, but not the Angel of Death."**_

"_**Then what am I?"**_

"_**The Angel of Mercy." His voice wasn't so stern anymore and his facial expression became soft, along with the look in his eyes. "You know what that is, right?"**_

"_**I do, but why the Angel of Mercy?" I asked. I knew that Angel of Mercy was the opposite of what the grim reaper was. **_

"_**You know how I'm the God of Death and that if I allow someone to get close to me they end up dying. I've allowed you to get close to me and you're still alive. It's because of this that I believe you're the Angel of Mercy."**_

"_**So what you're saying is that because of this the effects of Death and Life cancel each other out or that I'm immune to Death?"**_

"_**Maybe both, but I'm not so sure about you being immune to Death. And there's the fact that opposites attract." He then smirked. "Besides, the title of Death has already been taken by yours truly."**_

"_**I guess you're right." I placed the side of my face back on his chest and closed my eyes. "Thank you."**_

"_**Like I always say, anything for the fair maiden. Although maybe I should start calling you 'my angel' as well."**_

"_**Whatever floats your boat, Duo." I said.**_

"_**My boat's always floating." He stated.**_

But despite Duo having been able to cheer me up it still didn't get rid of the guilt I felt for Mom's death. I knew that he hid his true emotions with his cheerfulness, but this fact left me puzzled now. How could he act so cheerful with everything he's lost? I couldn't even do that and I only lost Mom and Dad. Although, Duo had about seven to eight years in creating a flawless mask of cheerfulness, making it the perfect façade. Don't I sound angsty? I can be so pathetic sometimes… I jumped when I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder and I whipped my head around, only to find that it was Duo behind me holding a duffle bag in the hand that wasn't on my shoulder.

"Why are you so jumpy? It's only me." He said with a grin.

"What took you so long?" I asked.

"You could say I was clearing some things up with Heero." He took his hand off my shoulder before descending the last few steps on the stairs. "I hope you're ready for lunch. I'm starving!"

"Yeah. Lunch."

Duo turned around to face me and I saw the slight confusion he expressed.

"What's wrong, Rhea?"

I mentally hit myself. Of course Duo would be able to pick up on my emotions, even if it were just listening to my voice or observing my facial expressions. It was likely that he was trained to do that.

"I think I'm a little anxious about leaving Earth." I confessed. "I've been used to living here, even if I'm in a different dimension."

"I can understand where you're coming from. You grew up living on Earth most of your life and suddenly you're going into space for the first time. I grew up living in a colony so I'm used to being space."

"That makes sense." I got up from where I was sitting on the steps and went over to Duo. "I'm ready to eat now."

"Good, because we're leaving afterwards."

We ate lunch with everyone and I watched as Duo went through multiple servings (I lost count at three) with wide eyes. How could he eat so much? And where does he even put it? I tried to ignore him and eat the food on my plate, but my gaze kept coming back to him and it was hard to pull my eyes away.

"Maxwell, stop eating like a pig!" Wufei said.

"What? I'm a growing guy!" Duo stated.

"I don't care what your excuse is, but you're distracting the onna from eating her own meal!"

This caused Duo to stop in place with his fork close to his mouth and looked at me. I watched his gazed went to my plate (which was far from being finished) before coming back to my face.

"Heh heh! Sorry about that!" He apologized, giving me a sheepish smile.

"It's okay." I said before turning to the Chinese boy. "But I'm surprised, Wufei. I didn't know you cared."

"Whatever. Don't think this changes anything, onna!"

'_Figures…_' I thought.

Well that's what happened at lunch. But then the time went by so quickly that it felt like mere seconds than the hour that we spent together. After saying goodbye to Quatre (I also thanked him for letting me stay in his place), Trowa, Heero, and Wufei I followed Duo to a door that was in an alcove to the left side of the stairs, which confused me. Weren't we supposed to leave through the front door? He must've known what I was thinking since he spoke.

"The hangar's through this door and down the stairs." He told me. "That way we can hide the Gundams while we're staying here."

"Oh."

We made our way down the stairs, where we came upon a metal door that had a keypad next to it. I watched as Duo punched in a password code on the keypad, door sliding open and allowing us inside the hangar. I was surprised to find all five of the Gundams in the huge room standing side by side. All the way at the left end was Wing Zero, followed by Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, and ended with Altron at the right end of the room. I felt a little scared and became tense when I saw Deathscythe Hell, knowing that this was the second time I've seen it up close in person. I couldn't help the memories of that night that came into my head.

'_Mom…_'

I felt an arm wrap around me so that a hand rested on my upper arm in a reassuring way. I didn't have to look to know that it was Duo next to me. I relaxed a bit from the familiar touch as I felt a sense of security.

"It's gonna be okay." He said reassuringly. "My buddy wouldn't hurt ya, at least not intentionally."

"I know." I told him. I sighed "Aren't I a wuss? Not even a Gundam pilot yet and I'm scared of my ally's Gundam."

"You'll get used to it. C'mon!"

Duo guided me over to where Deathscythe Hell was before pulling out what looked like the remote thingy that are always on car keys to lock or unlock the car, pressing one of the button that caused the hatch to the cockpit to open up. I watched as a cable with a foothold at the end was lowered down until the foothold itself touched the floor. I saw him walk over to the cable and placed a foot in the foothold while he grasped the cable itself with one hand before looking up at me.

"What are you waiting for, Rhea?" He asked, a grin on his face. I blushed slightly when I realized he was waiting for me and came over to where he stood. "You're going to have to put your foot in the foothold and hold onto me so you don't fall."

I did what he told me and placed my foot in the foothold before wrapping my arms around his waist, holding onto him tightly but not enough to cause him any pain. I blushed when I felt Duo wrap his free around my waist before the cable starting pulling us up until we were leveled with the hatch (which also served as a platform to stand on). He helped me get inside the cockpit (telling me to watch my head so I didn't hit it against the opening while ducking) and I was amazed to actually be able to see the inside of a Gundam's cockpit. The pilot seat (which Duo was now sitting in) was only about a foot or two away from the hatch and I stood right in front of the seat as I watched as he pressed a few buttons before it closed behind me, leaving the inside of the cockpit in a dimly lit darkness. I heard the sound of the buttons beeping softly as he continued punching them before the monitors that surrounded the pilot seat (from both the left and right side of it all the way to the one right above where the hatched opened up) lit up one by one until they all showed the feedback of the hangar outside Deathscythe Hell. I glanced back at Duo, who was now buckling the safety harness on his chair before he looked up at me with his cobalt blue eyes and grinned.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" He asked.

"Sit down where? There's nowhere to sit." I replied.

"Oh, there is somewhere for you to sit." His grin changed into a smirk. "You're a smart girl, I think you can figure it out."

I was confused by what he meant. There wasn't anywhere to sit! Unless I'm overlooking something obvious. I scanned the inside of the cockpit with my eyes and I still didn't see somewhere to sit! My eyes landing on the seat Duo was sitting on since it was the only place to sit. I knew that a Gundam (as well as any other Mobile Suit) was designed to accommodate one person. I started putting two and two together, only to have my eyes widen I realized what he meant!

"Oh no!" I said, feeling my face heat up.

"Oh yes!" I eeped when Duo suddenly (and quickly) wrapped his arms around my waist before pulling me close and forcing me to sit in his lap. My face heated up even more as his left arm remained around my waist as he placed the right one on the joystick to his right. "You're gonna have to stay seated so I can maneuver Deathscythe out of here."

I nodded my head before he took his left arm off my waist so that he could grasp the other joystick and I watched the monitor in front of us as the Gundam moved towards the huge hatch (or whatever it's called) that was starting to open up, letting the light from outside filter in. When it was finally open Duo activated the thrusters on Deathscythe Hell in order to fly out of the hangar, the sensation reminding me of being on a roller coaster or on a plane as its just taking off after speeding down the runway or maybe even both. At least that's what it felt like to me. As we continued to ascend altitude I started to feel a little lightheaded and leaned back against Duo, not caring about the position I was in as I placed my head on his shoulder. I felt him shift around and a soft beeping sound reached my ears before feeling a hand stroke the side of my face as oxygen filled my lungs, decreasing the lightheadedness I felt. I realized that Duo must've activated something that caused oxygen to filter into the cockpit.

"You should get some rest, Rhea. Take a little nap if you need to, just remember to breathe normally." Duo told me softly. "I'll wake you up once we're in space."

I closed my eyes in order to rest a bit, focusing on breathing normally as the hand continue stroking the side of my face in a soothing way. Even if my eyes were closed I was still aware of what was going on around me and it would normally take me a few hours until I actually fall asleep (AN: It's always like this for me as well). After awhile the hand stopped stroking my face before pulling away and I heard Duo sigh in content.

"My angel…" He said quietly. "Let's see…what was that in Japanese again?" It sounded like he was thinking and I grew curious. "'Watashi no tenshi…?' I think that's what it was." It was quiet for a bit. "Huh? Looks like we're in space. Wake up, sleeping beauty. We've finally made it to space."

"I heard you the first time, Duo." I said softly. I opened my eyes and lifted my head up a bit.

"Heard me the first time? What, where you awake this whole time?" He asked.

"I actually was."

I heard Duo breathe sharply before he spoke again.

"…Just how much did you hear?"

"Everything. Including 'my angel'. Why that one?"

"Because you're my Angel of Mercy. Hence 'my angel'."

"I'll teach you something in Japanese." I told him. "The Japanese word for God of Death is Shinigami."

"Shinigami, huh? Well, if I'm called Shinigami, then you're called Tenshi."

"I guess you have a point." I thought back to earlier when I was feeling lightheaded. "Why did I feel lightheaded earlier?"

"That would be because we were getting higher in altitude. Everybody gets lightheaded the first time they go into space, and since you got lightheaded earlier I had to activate the oxygen tank in order to prevent you from getting altitude sickness."

"Thank you, Duo."

"Anything for the fair maiden. You might want to take a look at the monitors."

I looked at the monitor in front of us and gasped lightly at the sight I saw! Staring back at me was a view of Earth from space and it was so much more beautiful than the pictures I've seen on the internet, so breathtaking. To think that I grew up living on such a beautiful planet. I glanced around at the other monitors and could see some stars in the distance. My first time in space and I was seeing all these things.

"It's so beautiful…" I said breathlessly. "I never seen anything like this before."

I was taken by surprise when I felt lips lightly pressed against the left side of my neck, which caused my face to heat up. Soon I felt them open slightly before suddenly feeling something wet stroking my skin and my eyes widened when I finally realized what it was!

"What the hell, Duo?" I cried as I jerked away from his face. "What are you doing?"

"Laying claim to you, what else?" He said casually, a smirk on his face.

I had read one time on the internet about a Japanese gesture that said that if someone licked their finger then touched someone or something with it that meant they were laying claim to whatever they just touched. Did that apply when Duo was licking my neck with his tongue while kissing it? I shivered involuntarily. More disturbing thoughts…

"Well, don't do that! It's gross!"

"I won't…for now."

"Ugh… Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"I don't know, you tell me." He suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and my face heated up some more.

"What are you doing, Duo? You're supposed to be piloting Deathscythe, not holding me!"

"I thought that maybe you should try piloting Deathscythe."

"In case you didn't realize, I don't know how!"

"Don't worry about it. You happen to be sitting on the lap of a fully trained Gundam pilot who can teach you."

"Don't remind me…" I groaned.

"Remind you of what? That I'm a Gundam pilot?" He asked.

"That I'm sitting on your lap…"

Duo chuckled.

"You know you like it."

"No, I don't!"

"Deny it all you want, no one's stopping you."

I sighed at this before placing my hands on the two joysticks that I knew controlled the Gundam, trying really, really, _really_ hard not to think of the arms Duo had wrapped around my waist…and the fact that I could feel the warmth of his chest through the back of my shirt...

'_Stop thinking like that, Rhea!_' I thought to myself. I took a deep breath before letting it out.

"Okay, what do I do now?"

"You move the joysticks forward in order to go in that direction and so on for the other one."

Duo continued explaining the controls to me and after a few minutes he was letting me pilot Deathscythe Hell away from Earth and in the direction of the moon. He told me that the feedback we saw on the monitors was coming from the two cameras on the head of the Gundam ("In other words, from the eyes on the head." He stated).

"How far do you want me to go?" I asked awhile into piloting the Gundam.

"When we pass by the moon that'll mean we're almost to L2. I talk over from there and pilot the rest of the way to the colony. We'll see the L1 space colony on the way to the moon." I felt his arms slightly tighten around my waist. "So far you're doing a good job piloting."

"Please try _not_ to distract me. I know how much you like clinging to me and all, but can you keep it to a minimum? It's hard enough as it is trying to ignore where you're arms are, Duo."

"Rule number 1 when piloting a Gundam: a person must continue piloting under any distractions, regardless of how many there are!"

"You just made that up!"

"My distractions are nothing compared to the ones you might encounter during battle sometime in the future. You'll be expected to pilot your Gundam in such conditions."

"That isn't fair!"

"Now, Rhea. What did I tell you about fairness?" Duo asked, I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I sighed.

"That 'it's implied that life isn't fair.'" I groaned.

"Good girl!" I felt Duo patting the top of my heat with his hand. "You're a fast learner!"

I growled quietly at this as I refrained from hitting the braided man. Fine! If he expects me to pilot Deathscythe Hell through his distractions, then I'll show him. I felt his lips on my neck again and my grip on the controls tightened as I tried not to get irritated.

"No tongue." I warned.

I felt him smirk into the kiss, but otherwise he listened to me. As much as I hated to admit it, I liked it. He then stopped kissing my neck, but then he nuzzled it and caused my face to heat up.

'_I really hope we pass by the moon soon. That was an unintentional rhyme._' I thought. '_I'm not sure how much more of this I can take…_'

I noticed that we were approaching a huge object on the monitor and realized that it must've been the L1 colony! We're almost to the moon! I took a deep breath before letting it out. Just a little longer. You can make it. Duo let out a content sigh and I felt his warm breath on my neck, causing goose bumps to form on my skin. I wish he would stop. I started counting in my mind as we continued making it closer to the moon, anticipating the end of Duo's distractions once he finally takes control of Deathscythe Hell. I'll be so glad when that happens. When we got close to the moon I couldn't help but feel sad at seeing its rocky surface. I knew that the surface looked like that from seeing pictures of it back home, but to see it up close in person was so much more different. To think that this was what I always saw when I looked up at the sky at night.

"_**It almost looks like a graveyard."**_ I remembered that that was what Duo said in the anime.

"It really does look like a graveyard…" I said softly, my voice having a hint of sadness to it.

"Almost." Duo suddenly said. "It _almost _looks like a graveyard. I believe you know about me saying that from when you were watching anime back in your dimension."

"Yeah. You were talking to Howard at the time."

"Wow! I guess that anime's really accurate, then. But yeah, I was talking to Howard at that time. You'll be seeing the moon like this for awhile." I felt him pull his face away from my neck. "Do you miss being on Earth?"

I was surprised by his question and the way he said it. His voice sounded serious with a small hint of sadness that would've been easily missed.

"Yeah, I miss Earth." I replied. "I'm guessing you do as well?"

"You know me too well for your own good." I heard him laugh quietly. "To be honest, I was a little envious of you when we first met. To grow up living on that planet and not realize how beautiful it really was until you saw it two hours ago." He removed his arms from around my waist before reaching out for my hands and his fingertips lightly brushing my skin, causing my heart to flutter a bit. "I'll take over from here. You'll see L2 as we pass the moon."

It didn't take us long to pass the moon and I immediately saw L2. I was so caught up in thought about what Duo shared with me that I didn't noticed we were there until I felt Deathscythe Hell land on solid ground. I looked up at the monitor and saw that we were inside a hangar that I assumed was inside the colony. Duo started turning off the monitor and everything else until the Gundam was inactive and it was dark inside the cockpit. I felt him shift around.

"Now where did I put it?" I heard him ask himself and I assumed he was looking for something in his pockets. "Aha!" A few seconds after he said that the hatch opened up and I blinked my eye when I saw the light from outside the Gundam. "You might want to get up, Rhea."

I blushed before standing up from sitting on Duo's lap and moved out of the way as I heard what sounded like a seatbelt unbuckling. He stood up and I watched as he stretched his arms above his head. He must've fell stiff from sitting in the same position for two hours straight. Now that I thought about it I felt a little stiff as well, but that's no surprise. Duo grabbed the duffle bag that he had placed on the floor left of the chair before walking towards the open hatch and…JUMPING OFF?

"Oh my god, Duo! Are you okay?" I cried, my eyes wide in horror.

"I'm perfectly fine, Rhea!" I heard him yell up to me from the ground. I carefully walked onto the platform the hatch door created and looked down at the ground to find Duo standing on the floor looking up at me. "C'mon! Jump down!"

"WHAT? Are you crazy?"

"After all the time we've spent together I'd think you'd know if I was crazy or not! Now jump!"

I looked at the ground that seemed to be miles away from me before I gulped.

"If I die, I'll come back to haunt you for the rest of your life, Duo Maxwell!"

"You're still living with me regardless if you die or not!"

I closed my eyes and counted to three in my head before I jumped off the platform. I thought that I would be falling rapidly to the ground, but when I felt that I was descending slowly I opened my eyes to find that I was actually floating down towards the ground! I mentally slapped myself for my stupidity. I can't believe I forgot about the lower gravity level in the docks and hangars on the colonies. It didn't take long for my feet to meet the ground with a grinning Duo standing in front of me.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" He asked.

"Bite me!" I retorted. Big mistake on my part. Without warning Duo had grabbed my right arm with both of his hands, bringing his mouth close to it and literally bit me! I jerked my arm away from him and just stared at him like he was crazy. He didn't bite me hard, but still! "What the hell?"

"You told me to bite you."

"I didn't mean it in the literal sense, you idiot! Sometimes I wonder what you're thinking inside that head of yours."

"Really now?" I watched as his grin changed into a sly smile and I started backing away when I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Duo. Whatever you're thinking, don't do it." I warned.

"Too late!"

As soon as those words left his mouth Duo wrapped his arms around me before pulling me up with him so that we were both floating. I tried to pull away from him, but with the way he was holding me I knew he wasn't letting me go anytime soon.

"You wanna know what I'm thinking?" He asked.

"No."

"Well, too bad. Because I'm telling you." He leaned his head closer to my ear and I could feel his warm breath on my skin. "I'm thinking of how I'm going to take care of my angel while she's staying with me. The God of Death always has to consider these things when it comes to keeping his Angel of Mercy safe." I blushed when he said this, but I turned my head slightly before placing a kiss on his cheek. Duo pulled away from me with a grin on his face and unwrapped his arms from around me before grabbing my hand in one of his. "Let's get going. I bet you're hungry."

"Okay."

Duo pulled me along with him as we floated back to the ground and picked up his duffle bag before we exited the hangar. Once the door was shut I turned around to see him punching in a code on the keypad before placing his thumb on the small square below the buttons. When he was satisfied with his handiwork he turned to face me with a smile.

"Now we can go!"

I followed after him a we made our way down a hallway before coming into a bigger area filled with bustling people, their talking voices mingling together to make a loud incoherent noise. It took us awhile to get to the entrance but we were rewarded with the seeing the outside of the building, the artificial light inside the colony giving off the impression of a setting sun. I knew right away that it was nothing more than a pale imitation compared to the real thing.

"I know this is your first time being on a space colony and all, but try to keep up!" Duo told me.

I mentally slapped myself before catching up to Duo as we walked around the parking area. I could tell he was looking for something (I assumed it was a vehicle) but after awhile he stopped in front of a motorcycle. I put two and two together and realized…

"This is yours?" I asked.

"Yep! How else do you think I got here?"

"You walked."

Duo chuckled.

"Fat chance! It's a long walk from here to my place and would take a good amount of time to do that." He managed to hook his duffle bag on the motorcycle so that it didn't fall off before handing me a helmet. "Put this on."

"I-I've never been on a motorcycle before!"

"Don't worry! You're safe with me!" He placed another helmet on his head before getting on the vehicle. I knew that he was right about that. He would keep me safe. I put the helmet on and got on behind Duo, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

That was all Duo needed to hear before turning on the motorcycle and driving it out of the parking area. I shut my eyes tightly as I felt the unfamiliar sensation from riding something like this and it was different from being inside a Gundam. I prefer being in a Gundam than riding a motorcycle, but then again this was my first time.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"Someplace where we can eat! I know this place that I'm sure you'll like!" Duo replied.

I opened my eyes and watched as we passed by buildings. It was starting to get dark and I could see the moon outside the clear surface that covered the colony. Out of everything that I've seen so far in this colony the light from the moon and stars were some of the only natural things it had (aside from whatever plant life they had), but I still felt a little sad at seeing how close it was here. A constant reminder of what I saw on the way here. I can understand why Duo said he was a little envious of me. I couldn't see Earth since the moon was in the way. I noticed the motorcycle was slowing down before coming to a stop in another parking area. I turned my head to look behind me and my eyes widened when I saw where we were! Was I seeing things? I took off my helmet and I knew I wasn't seeing things!

"Denny's? You guys have Denny's in this dimension?"

"Sure do! I knew you'd like it when you saw it." Duo took off his helmet and gave me a grin. "At least it's something you're familiar with."

With that we went inside Denny's and to make a long story short we had gotten our seats and ordered our drinks and meals. So here we were sitting across from each other as we talked and occasionally sipping at our drinks. I thought back to what happened back in the hangar when Duo was using the keypad and I couldn't help but feel curious about it.

"What was it you were doing when we were outside the hangar?" I asked.

"That hangar was appointed to me by the Preventers since I work for them. So in a way you could consider it my private hangar and whatnot." He explained. "As for what I was doing when we were outside the hangar, I was literally locking it up so nobody breaks in. It opens from the inside, but you can't get inside without using the keypad."

"That I can understand."

Sometime later our food came and I watched as Duo ate his burger and fries. I had to keep reminding myself to eat my own burger as well, albeit at a slower rate than how he was eating. By the time I was almost finished with my burger I noticed that some on the fries on my plate were missing. Strange… I glanced up at Duo and saw that he was looking at me with a grin on his face.

"Okay, what's with the grin?" I asked, feeling suspicious.

"Nothing. I'm just watching and making sure my fair maiden is eating her food."

Okay then. I returned to eating my burger, keeping my eyes on my plate to avoid Duo's gaze. I finished the burger off and grabbed one of the fries on my plate when I noticed a hand taking a few fries from my plated. I looked up just in time to see Duo eating them. So that was where they were going!

"Hey!"

"Nothing more than fair game!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Not because of what Duo said, but at the fact that he was stealing my fries.

"My Dad would do the same thing. He used to steal fries off my plate when I was little." I smiled before pushing my plate closer to Duo. "You can have the rest of them."

"This is the first time I've seen you laugh and smile all day, Rhea." He stated. "I was wondering where it went to."

"I probably lost it, but I think you helped me find it again."

I watched as Duo smiled at me.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

The waitress came by with the bill and I watched as Duo pulled out his wallet to pay. Instead of pulling out what I was expecting to be U.S. currency I was surprised to see something different. They were dollar bills, but these were different than the ones I've used. Their appearance reminded me of the Euros back in my dimension, but instead of saying 'Euros' printed on it, it had… I had to move my head a bit to see what was written and from what I was able to make out I saw 'Cre' while the rest of it was being covered.

"What are those?" I asked.

At this Duo stopped counted to look up at me before smiling.

"Oh, these! They're called 'credits'. These are our currency in this dimension, which everyone uses in the colonies and on Earth."

"In other words, your currency here is universal. Like the Euros from where I came from."

"'Euros'?"

"It's the currency that most of the countries in Europe use. But that only applies to Europe."

"Yeah! Credits are like Euros, then! But as I said, this type of currency is used by everyone."

"It definitely makes things easier when it comes to buying stuff." Duo pulled out the amount of credits needed to pay for our meal and placed it on top of the bill. As he was putting his wallet away a sudden thought came into my head. "But if credits are the currency here, then how was it that you had U.S. dollar bills?"

"I have my ways."

"No, seriously. How did you get them?"

I watched a Duo looked around us to see if anyone was nearby before leaning over the table to get close to me. Seeing this I did the same thing and leaned closer to him.

"I stole it. Pickpocketed if you wanna be specific." He whispered into my ear.

My eyes widened when he said this.

"You stole it?" I whispered back.

"I didn't take a lot of money from a single person. I only took a few bills from one person before doing the same to the next person."

I pulled away from him and just stared as he returned to his seat. I blinked a few times as we were both quiet and I could see Duo shifting around uncomfortable in his seat.

"Not exactly what I thought, but I can understand." I said, trying to break the silence. "I'm not mad or anything, it's just wasn't expecting that. Thanks for dinner."

Duo let out the breath he must've been holding, sounding relieved that I wasn't mad at him.

"Oh, good! You're not mad at me! And you're welcome."

A few minutes later we were leaving Denny's and heading towards Duo's place via his motorcycle, which I finally got used to being on. He told me that he lived in his own apartment after saving up enough money to buy it. Then he told me about his job at the scrap yard and the fact that 'the pay was good', as he phrased it. It wasn't long until we stopped in the parking area outside an apartment building, taking off our helmets and Duo grabbing his duffle bag before we started climbing the stairs. We reached the second floor and I followed him down the hall as we passed a few door until we came the fourth door near the end. I offered to hold onto his duffle bag as he searched for his key, but he said he had it before he finally found it and opened the door.

"Welcome to your new home!" He said as he held the door open for me.

I walked inside the apartment and flicked the light switch on, only to have my eyes widen in horror at what I saw with the lights on! The living room (at least what I assumed it was with the way it looked) was a total mess with a pizza box and some Chinese take out containers on the coffee table that stood between the couch and TV, soda cans (or whatever they were) littered the carpeted floor here and there, and blankets and pillows all piled up on the couch. I took caution as I walked further into the living room and I could see the kitchen from where I stood, and I'll tell you right now that its condition was no better than the living room. There were dishes piled up in the sink with some on the counter next to it and (you guessed it) another pizza box on the table. I turned to look at Duo, who was giving me a sheepish look.

"Oh my god, Duo. This place is a mess." I said. "I can't see how you're able to live here in the state this place is in."

"I kinda forgot about that."

I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to find that there was no food inside. So not only was the place a mess, but there was no food! That would explain all the pizza boxes and Chinese take out… And this is the place I have to live in?

"Okay. I'm not going to freak out. I'm going to remain calm and rational about this." I took a deep breath before turning back to Duo. "Okay. Since you're letting me live here with you I have a proposition. I'll take care of keeping this place clean, buy groceries when needed so that there is actually something inside the fridge, and cook."

"You don't need to do that, Rhea! You live here now."

"You're right. I live here now. And that means that I have to help out around here as well. You have a job at the scrap yard, I don't. So while you're away I won't really have anything to do. Do we have a deal?"

I watched as Duo sighed, both of his eyes closed as he did this.

"Fine. Fine. You win." He said in defeat. "There's no way I'm going to change your mind."

"And we've come to a mutual agreement."

"Yeah. An agreement that just might change my life."

Duo started walking down the alcove in the upper left corner from the now closed front door and walked through the open doorway. I followed after him and found that the room he walked into was his bedroom, seeing that his duffle bag was at the end of the double bed as he was unpacking it. Unlike the kitchen and living room Duo's bedroom was actually clean and very tidy, making me come to the conclusion that he either didn't spend a lot of time in here aside from sleeping or that he spent more time keeping it clean than the rest of his apartment. I walked inside his room and just stood there watching him put his things in drawers and inside the lit up bathroom connected to the room, and I couldn't help feeling guilty for not doing anything. Instead of just standing here I could be helping him unpack, but then what was stopping me from doing so? What was stopping me?

I took a deep breath, trying to dismiss that thought.

"Is there anything I can help with?" I managed to get out.

Duo stopped what he was doing and turned to look at me.

"Not really." He said. His gaze went up to the ceiling and he looked to be thinking. "Hmm, maybe there is." His gaze returned to me. "Do you think you could take my Pjs out of the bag and lay them out on the bed for me?"

"Sure."

I finally had someway to help him out. I went over to where the duffle bag sat on the bed and started looking through it for his Pjs (which consisted of a gray tank top and black sweatpants). After awhile of searching I eventually found them and placed them on the bed. Even if this was a small thing I was helping Duo with I was still able to help him. At least I didn't feel guilty anymore.

"Well, I'm planning on getting a shower." Duo said once he finished unpacking and placed his duffle bag in what I assumed was his closet. "Do you want to get one first?"

"No. I'll wait until you're done." I told him.

"Okay, then! I won't take long!"

I watched as he walked into the bathroom before closing the door behind him, hearing the shower start soon after. I looked towards the nightstand next to the bed, where a lamp and a alarm clock sat and showing the time in glowing red digital numbers. I went over to turn the lamp on so there could be some form of light in the room before sitting down on the side of the bed. I pulled out my iPod and decided to listen to 'Dreams' from 'Gundam Singles History III'.

_**Wasurekaketa yume ga ima ugokidasu  
**__**Mune no sukima  
**__**Sukoshizutsu umeru yo ni**_

_**Kooritsuita kioku ga mezameru shunkan  
**__**Hajimaru mirai dake wo ima negau**_

_**Itsuka mita ano yume wo  
**__**Ryote de dakishimete  
**__**Hanasazu akiramezu ni  
**__**Shinjitsuzuketai  
**__**Itsuka mita ano yume wo  
**__**Kono te ni tsukamu made  
**__**Omoi wo wasurenai de  
**__**Oitsuzukete yukitai kara**_

_**Hito no nami ni kujikesou na toki ni mo  
**__**Wasurenai de  
**__**Hitorikiri janai koto**_

_**Atatameta te no hira ni nokosareta yume wo  
**__**Itsuka hikari ni kaeru hi no tame ni**_

_**Itsu no hi mo kono mune ni  
**__**Omoi wo dakishimete  
**__**Kagayaku toki no naka de mamoritsuzuketai  
**__**Itsuka mita ano yume ni  
**__**Tadoritsuku toki made  
**__**Kono te wo hanasanaide  
**__**Oitsuzukete yukitai kara**_

I found myself humming to the song as I continued to listen.

_**Kooritsuita kioku ga mezameru shunkan  
**__**Hajimaru mirai dake wo ima negau**_

_**Itsuka mita ano yume wo  
**__**Ryote de dakishimete  
**__**Hanasazu akiramezu ni  
**__**Shinjitsuzuketai**_

_**Itsu no hi mo kono mune ni  
**__**Omoi wo dakishimete  
**__**Kagayaku toki no naka de mamoritsuzuketai  
**__**Itsuka mita ano yume ni  
**__**Tadoritsuku toki made  
**__**Kono te wo hanasanaide  
**__**Oitsuzukete yukitai kara**_

When I was finished listening to the song I turned my iPod off before placing it on the nightstand. After sitting on the bed for a few more minutes I heard the shower turn off, but I didn't pay it much mind. I heard the door open and looked in that direction, only to feel my face heat up to 100 degrees when I saw Duo coming out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his waist while his long hair was down instead of being in its usual braid. I covered my eyes with my hands but the damage had been done and the image was already stuck in my mind. I heard him chuckle at my reaction.

"Oh c'mon, Rhea. It's not that bad." Duo said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. I heard his footsteps on the carpeted floor as he came closer to me and felt the bed sink a bit on my left side. A warm yet slightly wet arm was draped around my shoulders as I felt him leaning closer to me and I could feel his warm breath on my ear. "You know you like it." He whispered.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I…did like it and the sad thing was he knew he was right. I pulled my hands away from my eyes and dared myself to open them, looking out the corner of my eyes to see Duo close to me that my heart started to beat harder. I could smell whatever he used to clean himself with, but even now I couldn't tell what it was. I know that I've seen him wear tank tops before and all, but I was seeing his bare chest for the first time and I could feel my face get warmer and warmer as I continued to stare. It was… It was so…

'_Oh god, does he even realize how this is affecting me?_' I thought.

"A-are you trying to tempt me?" I asked quietly.

"Now what gave you that impression?" He asked innocently.

"Gee, I don't know. The fact that you came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around your waist and that you're sitting close to me."

He chuckled.

"You might wanna start getting used to it. You'll be seeing this more often now that you're living with me."

That's it. I've reached my limit. I quickly got up and made a beeline for the bathroom. I was about to close the door, but I stopped myself and glanced back at Duo.

"Can I braid your hair after I'm done?" I asked.

"Sure you can! Of course, that's after you've taken a shower." He grinned.

I blushed before closing the door behind me, making sure to lock it. I'm not taking any chances, not with what happened back there. I looked around the bathroom, its appearance simple with the usual sink, toilet, and shower. The shower itself was a walk in stall with a sliding glass door, the glass being most obscure for privacy. I opened the cabinet and pulled out a clean towel and wash cloth before placing the former on top of the toilet seat. I turned the water on in the shower and got in after stripping myself, making sure that I closed the sliding door.

I stood under the warm water so I could get used to it before a sudden thought popped into my head. I remembered how Duo always smelled nice and I started looking around the stall to find out what he used. I saw a few bottles sitting on the shelve and looked at the labels. Looks like he uses Dial soap with the Spring Water scent. I looked at the other bottles and my eyes widened when I saw what they were! No way! He washes his hair with Axe! And it was even the Dark Temptation scent! No wonder why he always smells nice! Since there was nothing else to wash myself with I settled with using Duo's stuff. I don't think he'd mind that. I quickly finished up before turning off the water, grabbing the towel to dry myself off before stepping out of the stall. It was when I closed the sliding door that I realized something. I had nothing to wear and I don't think sleeping in my clothes would be a good idea.

'_Why does this situation look familiar?' _I thought, already knowing the answer as I wrapped the towel around my body.

I walked over to the door and unlocked it before cracking the door open a bit. I spotted Duo sitting on the bed with his legs crossed while brushing his long hair. This time he was wearing the tank top and sweatpants I laid out for him earlier. Oh, great! I'm already having second thoughts about this. Deep breath, Rhea, deep breath…

"Duo?" I called.

Duo looked up and smiled when he saw me hiding behind the cracked door.

"What is it, Rhea?" He asked, coming over to stand right in front of the door.

"I don't have anything to wear." I started blushing.

"Okay, just a sec!" He left my line of sight and heard another door open, followed by a shuffling noise. He soon came back holding something black in his hand. "Hopefully you won't mind wearing any of my clothes." I opened the door a bit wider and I caught the look in Duo's eyes when he me with the towel wrapped around my body. "Personally, I was hoping to see a bit more, but this isn't so bad."

My face heated up in embarrassment from his comment. But then I got a bit annoyed and snatched whatever he got me to wear out of his hands, before closing the door shut.

"Usually thoughts like that are supposed to stay in your head, Duo!" I told him from behind the door.

"If I remember correctly, you were checking me out not too long ago as well." I heard Duo lean against the wall outside the door (at least I assumed). "I was only returning the favor."

"That was completely unintentional on my part. You could have at least warned me, you know?"

"Where's the fun if I did that?"

"I'm going to ignore that." I held black cloth out in front of me and blushed when I saw that it was a long sleeve button up shirt. I know that it would be big on me and all, but that didn't make it any better. "Duo. You only gave me a shirt to wear."

"I know. It's the only thing I could find on such short notice. It's going to be big on you, anyways. I'm gonna wait on the bed for you."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. I put any undergarments I had back on before slipping the black shirt over my head. The shirt itself was big on me that the sleeves covered my hands. I felt like I was wearing an extra, extra, extra, extra large shirt. I soon came out of the bathroom carrying my clothes as I closed the door behind me.

"Is there anywhere I put these?" I asked, referring to my clothes.

"Yeah. I'll take those." Duo said.

He came over to me and took my clothes before leaving the room. I didn't know where he was taking them but I went over and sat down on the bed. I spotted the hair brush Duo had been using earlier along with a hair tie as well. So he had everything ready for me for when I got done with my shower. I glanced down at the oversized shirt I had on, aware of the fact that I was wearing Duo's clothes as a small smile came on my face. During the time we've spent together he's done so much for me, even going as far as to take care of me. One example of this was that night when there was the thunderstorm and he let me stay with him because of my astraphobia. Now it was my turn to take care of him in return. My turn…

I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear the footsteps coming into the room until I felt the bed sink behind me and warm arms wrapped around me, holding me close to a warm body. I leaned back slightly and brought my hands up to place them over the arms, enjoying the warmth I was surrounded in. I felt him bury his face in my hair, hearing him give off an audible sigh as he smelled it.

"You smell nice." He said.

"That's because I used your stuff." I told him. "No wonder why you always smell good."

"I knew you would admit to that someday."

"Come on, lover boy. Time to braid your hair."

I turned around to face Duo and for the first time I was able to get a good look at him without his hair being in a braid. It was strange seeing his hair like this and the only time I've ever seen his hair down before was when I was reading the 'Episode Zero' manga of 'Gundam Wing', where he was only a 7 year old boy still living on the streets before being taken in by the Maxwell Church and having his hair braided for the first time. But since his hair was mostly dry there was a slight wave to it from being in a braid most of the time. I watched as he grinned.

"Whatcha looking at?" He asked.

"Your hair. It's really pretty." I gently grabbed a bit of hair and brought it close to me. I was surprised at how soft it was. "Not to mention it's strange seeing you without it being in a braid. I've never really seen you like this."

"What? Not even in the anime?"

"No. They never showed you with it down. That's why it was sometimes hard for me to image it like this until now."

"Well, I guess you're in luck today. Or tonight." He started to turn around so his back was facing me. He made sure that he wasn't sitting on any of his hair to make it easier for me. "Okay, do your worst!"

"You make it sound like I'm about to cut your hair!" I then hugged him from behind. "I'd never do that to you!"

"That's because you love me."

"No, I just love your hair."

"Then who do you love more? Me or my hair?" He asked.

"Your hair."

"Great! I lost my girlfriend to my hair! I feel so unloved…"

The way he said the last part sounded as if he was starting to cry. My eyes widened and I hugged him a little tighter to try and reassure him.

"Don't cry, Duo. I didn't mean it. You know I love you."

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do."

"Good."

He twisted around a bit to look at me before pecking my lips. I saw that he hadn't been crying at all!

"You weren't really crying at all!" I said.

"You too easy to trick sometimes."

"Okay. Let me do your hair. I don't think we want to stay up all night like this without getting any sleep."

"Yes, Tenshi." He said before turning his back to me.

I couldn't help the warmth I felt in my face but I smiled as I started braiding his long hair, taking extra care as I wove each section together. That's the first time he's called me 'Tenshi', which was Japanese for 'angel'. I'll tell you right now that it take awhile to make a three foot long braid, but I finally finished it.

"I'm done."

"Thanks-" Duo stopped himself, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "I mean…arigato." He said, sounding out the words.

"You're welcome, Duo." I told him. "What is that anyways?"

"A piece of paper with a few Japanese words Heero wrote down for me. I don't really know Japanese, except for what's written here."

"You went through all this trouble for me?"

"Yeah. You seemed to know some Japanese, so I wanted to make an effort to impress you."

"You've done more than enough to impress me. I'm just glad you try." I yawned a bit. "I'm starting to feel tired."

"Okay. Let's get to bed."

We both stood up from the bed before getting under the covers, Duo taking the right side of the bed while I took the left side. I was surprised at how comfortable the bed was and closed my eyes. I felt Duo wrap his arms around me before pulling me close to him and his warmth surround me. I suddenly felt his lips on the left side of my neck as he kissed it gently. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He pulled back slightly before his mouth came close to my ear.

"Laying claim to you." He whispered. "Just let me finishing what I started earlier today."

My eyes widened a bit, but I relaxed. I knew something like this was going to happen.

"Okay…"

Duo placed his lips back where they had been on my neck and soon felt them part before his tongue starting running across the skin he was kissing. Even though I told him not to do that I didn't try to stop him, shivering slightly as he continued. His tongue pulled away and he started sucking a bit. My eyes widened when I felt him nibbling on my neck as I felt a bit of pain and only one thing came to mind: love bite. The spot where he had been biting my neck felt a little sore when he stopped and he kiss the spot softly before bringing his lips back to my ear.

"Aishiteru, Tenshi…"

'I love you, Angel.'; that was what Duo said. I felt my face heat up as, but I closed my eyes, smiling as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Aishiteru, Shinigami…"

I fell asleep just like that, completely comfortable in Duo's arms as he held me close.

* * *

ATE: I know what you're all thinking right now. The idea for calling the currency in their world 'credits' came from a video game called 'MS Saga: A New Dawn' (I don't own it), which is a Gundam rpg game for the PS2 (don't own either) and the currency in the game were 'credits'. I used this name since it's never mentioned what currency they used in Gundam Wing. It has to do with the reason why Rhea's in the Gundam Wing world. Believe me it was hard trying to think something up, and that's what took up most of my time with this whole chap. And the fact that a certain Gundam pilot is starting to get ideas. *Dodges random Gundam Wing manga being thrown in my direction* Alright, Duo! We all know that the God of Death is back from hell and all that stuff! Just stop throwing my stuff at me!

Duo: Well, excuse me for being a mere mortal!

ATE: *Stares* ...You do realize that what you said had nothing to do with the fact that you threw one of my mangas at me.

Duo: *Looks around* Uh...oops...?

ATE: Just leave before I do something I know I'll regret.

Duo: Okay! *Waves at readers* Heyeverybody!Byeeverybody! (Hey everybody! Bye everybody!)

ATE: Now that he's gone, I'm going to post the english translations of the song 'Dreams', which I got from animelyrics dot net:

_The forgotten dream is moving.  
__The crevice of my heart  
__Is beginning to fill up._

_In the moment the frozen memories awaken,  
__We begin to wish for the future._

_Until the day I see the dream  
__I will catch with both hands,  
__I won't let go or give up.  
__I want to keep believing.  
__Until the day I see that dream  
__That I'll catch with this hand,  
__Don't forget the memories  
__I want to keep chasing it._

_Even when you feel like breaking down inside the crowd,  
__Don't forget  
__That you are not alone._

_The dream left in the palm of my warm hand  
__Will someday change into light_

_Someday, in this heart  
__I will embrace the memories.  
__I want to continue protecting those shining times.  
__Until the day I see that dream  
__I will continue struggling  
__And not release this hand.  
__I want to keep chasing it._

_In the moment the frozen memories awaken,  
__We begin to wish for the future._

_Until the day I see the dream  
__I will catch with both hands,  
__I won't let go or give up.  
__I want to keep believing._

_Someday, in this heart  
__I will embrace the memories.  
__I want to continue protecting those shining times.  
__Until the day I see that dream  
__I will continue struggling  
__And not release this hand.  
__I want to keep chasing it. _

ATE: I would also like to mention the poll I started last chapter about changing Estelle's name to Rhea, and so far there's only been 1 vote for the name Rhea. I'm thinking of letting everybody continue to vote and I'll make the decision once I post chap 10 or 11 in the near future. Please remember to review, share any ideas you want to suggest to me to use in future chaps (I'll give credit to whoever give me any ideas if I use them), and/or vote if you think I should change Estelle's name.

**(*) IMPORTANT UPDATE: Estelle's name has officially been changed to Rhea. **


	8. Chapter 8

ATE: Dang it! I did it again! I took too long to update this and it wasn't only because of a small case of writer's block, but school as well! I really need to stop updating so late like this. But I finally got this done! I want to thank AyameRose for their review on chap 7, and I Chrys I for their review on chap 6. So here's chap 8.

Declaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, Linkin Park, Victoria's Secret, the Twilight series, Maxwell House coffee, Family Guy, or anything related to the things I just listed. I only own my OC Rhea and the idea for this story.

* * *

Chapter 8

Warmth. I was surrounded in it. Felt safe in it. I don't want to leave. I felt so comfortable. So warm…

Wake up…

…

Wake up…!

…

Wake up!

…

…

…

WAKE UP!

My eyes shot open and I started mentally cursing the nagging voice in the back of my head. Why did it have to wake me up? I didn't want to wake up! In case you didn't realize what the 'nagging voice in the back of my head' was, it happens to be my conscience, more commonly known as the 'little voice in your head', but I have a feeling you already knew that.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Duo's face, causing me to blush since it was so close to mine that I could actually feel his warm breath blowing on my face as he slept. I wasn't sure what time it was and I couldn't exactly move to check either since my movement was very limited by his arms being wrapped around my waist. My eyes returned to his face and I watched as he continued to sleep. I noticed how relaxed he appeared while his breathing was slow and even. He looked so peaceful… I looked at his lips that were so close to mine and I couldn't help but wonder if he was aware of how close he was or not. I was really tempted to kiss them and my face heated up at the thought.

'_He could be pretending to sleep like that one time._' I thought, remembering what had happened during my first day in Quatre's mansion. '_Oh, what the heck? I'll do it anyways._' So I ended up giving into the temptation and my mind was set to take action. '_Don't be surprised if and when he responds._'

I closed the gap between us as I placed my lips on his, giving him a gentle kiss. I pulled away after a few seconds, feeling surprised and confused that Duo hadn't responded. Was he still asleep? This was new. I guess I could try again. I kissed him again, my eyes closed as I waited for a response. A few seconds past. Then a couple more. I was starting to consider pulling away from him when I felt a hand slowly being placed behind my head, fingers tangling themselves in my hair before pulling my head closer to his face to deepen the kiss. Duo's lips parted a bit and I felt his tongue tracing my bottom lip slowly. My face heated up a bit when I realized what he was doing and started contemplating on letting him in or not.

'_I've already come this far, I might as well continue._' I thought.

With that I parted my lips and Duo's tongue slid inside my mouth to explore, causing me to shiver a bit. I felt like I was going to melt when he started stroking my tongue with his and I found myself enjoying it. I knew that during the month I stayed at the mansion we had occasionally kissed each other, but never like this before. So this was a new experience for me.

That was when I remembered something! I needed to breathe. Duo must've been a mind reader or something since he took his tongue out of my mouth before pulling away from me. I opened my eyes to find him gazing at me as we were panting for air. He seemed to recover faster than me and smiled.

"Good morning to you, too." Duo said. He pulled me closer to him and sighed. "What a great way to wake up."

"Maybe I should do it more often." I joked.

"I wouldn't mind waking up this way. It certainly beats waking up to an annoying alarm clock."

"Speaking about clocks, what time is it?"

Duo lifted his head up and shifted around a bit to look at the digital clock I knew was behind me on the nightstand. A few seconds later I heard him groan.

"8:30. Time to get up."

He withdrew his arms from around me and got out of bed, yawning as he stretched out. He noticed I was still in bed and came over to my side with a grin.

"C'mon, angel! If I have to get up, you have to as well!"

I just stared at him, my eyes slightly wide in surprise. If I hadn't known any better I would've thought that he'd been awake for hours.

"How'd you do that?" I asked, completely confused.

"Do what?" He asked.

"You just woke up minutes ago and you're already going around wide awake and acting like you just had coffee."

Duo chuckled.

"I just happen to be a morning person from the moment I wake up."

"Lucky…"

"Apparently you're not a morning person."

"For the record I'm still half asleep right now. I'm going back to bed…"

I rolled over so that my face was buried into the pillow I was using and attempted to go back to sleep. But then the pillow was pulled out from underneath my head and caused it to slam down on the comfortable mattress.

"Oh no you don't! Don't you dare fall asleep on me!"

"Duo, I'm trying to sleep…" I was getting irritated.

"And I'm _trying_ to wake you up. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your pick."

I chose to ignore him and closed my eyes. That was when the covers (which happened to be really nice comforters) on the bed were jerked away from me and I was exposed to the cold (at least to me) air with the absence of warmth.

"Last chance to cooperate, Rhea. I mean it." I drew my legs close to my chest. I heard Duo sigh. "Looks like it's the hard way then."

My eyes shot open when Duo suddenly picked me up bridal style and started carrying me out of the room. I felt the warmth of his bare arm against… I looked down to where his arm was and my eyes widened at the realization that I was still wearing Duo's shirt, which was riding up a bit above my thighs. And to make matters worse his hand was touching the skin of my legs just above my knees, causing my face to heat up to 100 degrees. I was definitely wide awake now! Duo deposited me on the couch inside the living room with care and grinned down at me.

"I have to get dressed so wait here for a bit. And don't fall asleep."

"You don't need to remind me. I think you made sure of that." I said, feeling my face heat up a bit.

"Good!"

Duo placed a quick kiss on the left side of my neck before going past his room to a door I hadn't noticed last night, only to come out and go into his room. I was curious about what that room was, but it probably wasn't something to worry about. I touched the place where he kissed me and felt a dull sting when I pressed down a bit. Confusion was what I felt as I wondered why it was sore. I tried to find something reflective that I could use as a mirror. I knew the TV was out of the question, but then I noticed the stack of CD cases on top of a CD player (not the portable kind) that sat on a table-like cabinet to the left of the TV. I went over to the stack and took the case on top of the pile that happened to be Linkin Park. So they had these kind of music bands here as well. I opened the case before taking out the disc with great care and I was surprised that the bottom didn't have any scratches on it. At least I knew that Duo took care of his CDs if they were in such good condition. I used the reflective back as a mirror and tilted it slightly to find a bruise on the left side of my neck. I was confused at first but then I remembered what happened last night and blushed. Duo gave me a hickey. How was I going to hide it? I didn't have any make up to use and I don't think my tank top would cover it even if I wore my jacket with it. I placed the disc back in it's case and stared down at the list of song on the back.

"So what do you think?"

I jumped in surprise and turned around to find Duo standing next to me fully dressed in his usual outfit.

"God, Duo! Don't do that! You scared the shit out of me!" I said, holding a hand over my heart that was rapidly beating from being scared. "I didn't even hear you come in!"

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot! I specialize in stealth." He said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you inspecting the back of that disc."

"There's hardly a scratch on the back. And I didn't think this dimension would have the same music as the one I'm from."

"That just goes to show how many surprises you'll find and how many laughs I'll get from your reaction."

"Hardy har, Duo. So I'm guessing you have to go to work today?" I asked.

"Yep! In two hours to be exact."

"You do realize we don't have any food, right?"

"I know." I watched as Duo walked over to the phone that sat on a charging dock and started dialing a number before placing it to his ear. It was quiet before he spoke again. "Well, yeah I did. But I have bad news." There was a pause as he listened to whoever he called talk. "We have ourselves a Code Red! It's an emergency!" It took all my willpower not to laugh when he said that. Just the way he said it was funny. "Thanks! You're such a life saver! Also I have a favor to ask you… Yes, it concerns her… I'll tell you about it when you're here… Just don't be surprised by what she has on… Thanks again and see you in a bit!" Duo hung up the phone and placed it back on its charging dock before turning to face me. "That's a few problems taken care of."

"Who was that you were talking to?" I asked.

"That happened to be Hilde. There have been a few incidents in the past where I've come back from a mission after a week or so and find that I've either run out of food or whatever was inside the fridge had gone past its expiration date. We officially label incidents like these as Code Red and when they happen Hilde prepares enough food for the both of us to eat and comes over. Since you're here she'll be making enough for all three of us."

"That's good. Hopefully you didn't choose to eat any of the expired food."

"I was stupid enough to try that the first time it happened and ended up getting food poisoning. I called in sick and ended up getting five days off to recover. Sometimes it normally takes a person that long to recover, but I always make a fast recovery in one day."

"Then what do you do for with the other four days off?"

"Sleep in or relax. Whatever comes to mind."

Duo went over and plopped himself on the couch, looking up at me with a smile before patting the spot next to him. Realizing what he wanted me to do I walked over and sat down next to him, leaning against him as he draped his arm around my shoulders. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't comfortable.

"So what was that favor you were asking Hilde about?"

"Just a few things. I'll ask if she can help you get some clothes, along with groceries and possible keep you company until I get back from work."

"In other words you're having her baby sit me?"

"I wouldn't necessarily call it that. And it's only for today so you don't have to worry."

"Since you mentioned groceries is there any foods you don't like to eat that I shouldn't get?"

"If it's one thing I learned while living on the streets, it's that you're not picky about whatever food you find, just as long as you have something to eat."

"Good. At least I don't have to worry about that when I go to buy food." I said. "Is there anything specific you want me to make for dinner?"

"Hmm… How about you surprise me. I have a feeling whatever you cook will be good."

"You're placing that much trust in my cooking?"

"Of course! Would you rather trust my cooking instead?"

"I really don't see a problem with that. Why?"

Duo gave of a nervous laugh at my question, leaving me confused. That laugh wasn't a good sign.

"I'll leave Hilde to explain that one to you. But for now we can just sit here like this and wait for her to come." He then brought his face closer to mine so that I had no choice but to look into those pretty cobalt blue eyes of his. "And don't fall asleep."

It was happening again. I felt like I was being hypnotized by his eyes, just like the time when we were in Daily Grind. At least that's what it felt like.

"You enjoy torturing me like this, don't you?" I asked, having been able to get those words out under the influence of Duo's eyes.

"In what way?" He asked.

"With your eyes…" I started finding it hard to talk. "It's like you're hypnotizing me with them…"

"So what if I am?" His face came closer again (if that was even possible) to the point that his nose lightly brushed mine. "At least I know I have that affect on you…"

The next thing I knew I found myself locked in a kiss with Duo, his warm arms wrapped around me as he held me close to him. I lost myself in the kiss and it felt like it was just the two of us. I could feel the warmth from his chest through his shirt and leave me feeling comfortable and safe.

Suddenly my thoughts were broken when the sound of a doorbell went of and we pulled away abruptly to look at the door. Duo unwrapped his arms that were around me before getting up from the couch.

"That's probably Hilde."

I watched as he walked over to the door, looking through the peephole before opening it to reveal Hilde Schbeiker holding a large paper bag with both arms.

"Hey, Hilde! That was fast!"

Duo took the bag from her arms and allowed her to come inside. Her eyes widened at the condition the apartment was in and I couldn't help but wonder if my reaction was the same as hers when I first saw this place last night.

"What did you do to this place, Duo?" She asked. "It's a total mess!"

"Actually, it was what I did before I left L2. Anyways, I'd like you to meet Rhea."

At the mention of my name I stood up from the couch to face Hilde, but suddenly became self conscious when I remembered I was still wearing Duo's shirt, causing me to feel embarrassed. I saw the surprised expression on her face when she what I had on, but it was soon replaced with a very friendly and pleasant expression as she came over to me.

"So you're Rhea! I'm Hilde Schbeiker, but you probably already knew that." She held out her hand and I shook it in greeting. "Duo's told me so much about you."

"Really?" I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. "Hopefully it wasn't anything bad."

Hilde giggled.

"Quite the opposite, actually. He's said nothing but good things about you. I'm glad I get the chance to finally meet you. Now I bet you're two are hungry so let's eat."

I walked into the kitchen with Duo and Hilde, helping the latter in clearing the table of the empty pizza box sitting on top of it as the former started unloading the paper bag he had been holding. It turned out that she made scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast for all three of us. My eyes widened in surprise but then grinned when I saw the paper plates and plastic knives and forks that had been in the bag. In just a few minutes we were all sitting at the table eating the breakfast Hilde made.

"Hilde, you're a genius!" I told her.

"I know. I make sure to come prepared in cases like these. Especially when all of the dishes are dirty."

"Aw, c'mon, Hilde! It's not that bad!" Duo whined.

"Says the one who lives here."

"In case you forgot you're living here as well."

"As of last night." I sighed. "With the condition this place is in it might take days to finish cleaning it, and that's excluding dusting and vacuuming."

"I could help you with that."

"What?" My head shot in the direction Hilde was in with wide eyes. "Y-you don't have to do that!"

"You're right. I don't have to do that, but I want to." She turned to Duo. "Since you work today I'm guessing that favor you're going to ask me is keeping Rhea company while you're gone, right?"

"How'd you know? Did you suddenly become mind reader?"

"No, you're just predictable."

It was then that I laughed. Even though I was from a different dimension and the fact that everything here was from an anime I felt like I belonged and it just seemed so natural. It was strange, but in a good way.

"Good! You laughed!" Duo smiled. "You should do that more often, since they say it helps to relieve stress."

"Sure thing, Dr. Maxwell."

"Now, Rhea. Can you seriously imagine me in a white lab coat with a stethoscope?"

"Yes."

We all started laughing.

"Look like you got some competition, Duo." Hilde said after managing to calm down. "By the way, does she have any clothes?"

"If by clothes you mean the outfit she was wearing yesterday, then yes. Otherwise, no."

"Then what have you been wearing this past month, Rhea?"

"The same outfit that I was wearing yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I've had to constantly wash it once a day while wearing a pair of Pjs Quatre was letting me borrow at the time."

"Okay. Not only will I take you out to get groceries for this place, I'm also going to help you shop for clothes. How does that sound?"

"I guess it's okay."

"Thanks, Hilde! I owe you one!"

"You owe me nothing. This is the least I can do. And I don't think she wants to go around wearing the same clothes."

So we finished up with breakfast and threw away the plastic dishware that we used. But despite already being full there was a lot of food left over so we placed it in the fridge. I was taken by surprise when Duo pecked my cheek when I didn't expect it and my face to heat up.

"Okay! See you two when I get back!" Duo said.

And with that he went out the door, leaving me and Hilde inside the apartment.

"Well, how about we start tidying up this place. If we split up we could get this done twice as face." Hilde suggested.

"That sound good."

"Great! I'll handle the kitchen and you can do the laundry. Then once those are done we'll meet back in the living room to get that cleaned."

"Okay. I'm off." I started walking out of the kitchen, but then I stopped. "Um… Exactly where is the laundry room?"

"It's the last door at the end of the hallway. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!"

I left the kitchen and immediately saw the door Hilde was talking about at the end of the short hallway and noticed that it was the closed door Duo had gone into earlier. So that's what that room was. Then that meant he had gone into the laundry room, but for what? I went inside and saw a laundry basket full of dirty clothes next to the washer while the light on the dryer was glowing red, indicating that the load was done. It was the same with the washer as well so I assumed that the clothes in the washer were ready to go in the dryer. I opened the dryer door and started pulling out the clean clothes. Once everything was out I went over to the washer and was surprised that my clothes were the only thing inside. So that was why Duo was in here earlier. I placed them inside the dryer and turned to the laundry basked filled with dirty clothes, dumping everything out in order to separated them. We all know that when you did laundry you separate the light colors from the dark ones. But when you find that the majority of the clothes were dark colors, then you have a problem. That was the case here with Duo's laundry. There were light colors, yes, but not even half the clothes in the basket were light colors. I sighed, this would take awhile…

I sat on the ground as I separated the colors, blushing when I picked up a pair of Duo's boxers which were to go in the dark pile. Once I got everything separated I placed the light pile in the washer and started it before starting the dryer. That left me to fold Duo's clean clothes while I waited.

'_Maybe I could put these away as well._' I thought as I was halfway through folding clothes. After having washed my own dirty laundry in the past I've gotten faster at folding clothes. Good to know I haven't lost my touch.

The washer and dryer were still going by the time I finished folding everything and I decided I would put them away while I'm at it. I had to make a few trips back and forth to put the folded clothes away (I managed to figure out where everything went in the process) and when I had put the last pile away I spotted my iPod sitting on the nightstand where I'd placed it last night. I could probably listen to music while I continued doing laundry to help pass the time, but I decided against it and went back to the laundry room. It turned out that the washer and dryer were done and I unloaded the clean clothes, transferred the wet ones and placed the dirty ones in the washer.

About an hour later all the clothes were cleaned, put away in their proper places and I got my clean clothes on. (I was glad that I didn't have to wear Duo's shirt, which was now in the laundry basket). I went back to the bedroom and placed my iPod in my pocket before heading to the living room where I found Hilde waiting for me.

"I see you finished the kitchen." I stated.

"I did, and you finished the laundry. So those are the clothes you've been wearing, right?" Hilde asked.

"Yeah and they're clean, too."

"That's good! Let's get started in this room."

We set to cleaning the living room starting with picking up and throwing away the pizza boxes and cans. It was surprising how fast everything was getting done.

"So you and Duo have been dating for a month?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, we have."

"How has he been treating you so far?"

"God, with the way he treats me he might as well be handling glass. Why?"

"I wanted to make sure he's taking care of you. He holds you in such high regards when he told me about you during the last month. I've never seen him this happy before the whole time I've known him. Whatever you're doing keep it up!"

"R-really?" I felt my face heat up when she told me this.

"Absolutely! It's like you're the best thing that's happened in his life."

"So what's your relationship like with him?"

"He's like a brother to me. We look out for each other all the time. And this morning was an example of that. I'm glad you've been able to make him happy."

This conversation helped pass the time as we cleaned the living room and it didn't take longer than an hour to get it done. It was when we were getting ready to leave that Hilde came up to me with a makeup compact in her hand.

"What are you doing, Hilde?" I asked.

"I'm going to cover up that hickey that's on your neck. I don't think you want to go out and have everyone see it." I blushed, having forgotten about the hickey as the dark haired woman applied the powdery substance on that spot. "I have a feeling Duo gave this to you sometime recently."

"Hilde!"

The woman laughed.

"You're so fun to tease! C'mon, let's go!"

I followed Hilde out of Duo's apartment and she locked the door behind us with what seemed to be a spare key before descending the stairs to a car that I assumed belonged to her. Our first stop was a shopping mall where Hilde helped me pick out some new clothes (I really didn't want that much but she insisted, saying that "a girl should have more than a few outfits and she ended up buying me enough clothes to make five different outfits) and a set of Pjs (so I wouldn't have to borrow Duo's shirt again). The most embarrassing part about the whole clothes shopping was when she dragged me into what a store similar to Victoria's Secret and I looked at the sign to see what it was called. Scratch that! The store turned out to actually be Victoria's Secret! I had protested and begged Hilde not to drag me into the feminine place but in the end she somehow got me to go inside with her (and I still can't figure out how she did it, either). I had a feeling she was having more fun than I was about this whole shopping trip…or maybe it was my reactions.

As we were walking out of the place carrying the bags with everything we bought Hilde spoke.

"So what are you planning on making for dinner tonight?" She asked. I told her about my plans on making dinner tonight and invited her as well.

I thought about it for a bit a she started driving, grinning when I came up with something.

"Steak." I said.

"Steak? That sounds good, but why?"

"Do the words 'I wouldn't mind having a juicy steak for dinner' mean anything to you?"

It took Hilde a few seconds to figure it out and laughed.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"He did say to surprise him."

"Duo told me about you knowing those things. He was right."

We soon arrived at the local grocery store and picked up a basket as we came through the door. About 30 minutes later we were making our way to the coffee isle when I spotted the magazine and book isle and went to check it out, by I spotted something that made my mouth fall open in shock.

"No!" I gasped, picking up a book. "Are you kidding me?"

"Is something wrong, Rhea?" Hilde asked.

"Curse you Stephanie Meyer! How could you make it this far in the universe?"

The book in my hands was none other than Twilight! Stupid vampire romances…! I must've had a murderous look on my face since Hilde took the novel away from me and started dragging me to where the coffee was. I managed to calm down, only to laugh when I saw the name of a certain brand of coffee.

"We certainly know what brand to get Duo!" I said.

"I'd love to see his reaction. If I'm not there to see it you'll have to tell me."

"Deal!"

So we placed two cans of Maxwell House coffee in the shopping basket before heading to the one isle that had all the personal hygiene products where we got myself my own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, a hair brush, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a few packs of pads (which caused my face to heat up in embarrassment) before we headed for the check out line. I was so glad to leave the store after we bought everything and the fact we were heading back to the apartment. To make a long story short we had to make a few trip back and forth to get everything we bought inside Duo's place.

"So when does Duo get back?" I asked.

"He'll be back at around 6:30."

"Crap! That only gives us an hour!" I grabbed the bags with all my new personal belongings. "I gotta hide these somewhere so he doesn't find them!"

"You go do that!" Hilde laughed. "I get everything ready while you do that."

I ran out of the kitchen and tried to find a place where I could hide my bags. I frantically searched the living room for a hiding place, clutching the bags close to my chest. No luck! Duo's room and the bathroom were out of the question and I couldn't hide them in his closet for obvious reasons. Uh… Um… Where can I hide them? That was when I spotted the closet in the living room where the vacuum cleaner was in.

"Eureka!" I exclaimed happily as I hid the bags inside.

I went back into the kitchen to see that Hilde had already set everything out on the newly cleaned counter. Let's see… Steak, check. Instant mash potatoes, check. Spinach, check. That's everything required for tonight's dinner!

"That was fast." Hilde stated.

"It was?"

"Yeah. You were only gone for a few minutes."

"A few minutes? I could've sworn it was more than that."

"That would be because you were panicking. Now before we start getting distracted, let's get started on dinner."

We started preparing dinner and to speed things up (AN: because explaining little details take too long) we managed to get it all done and the table set with silverware and everything. I sat down in one of the chairs at the table and let out a sigh.

"Man, what a long day?"

"Considering that you did most of the work I can't blame you for being tired. I hardly got to do anything." Hilde sat in the seat across from me.

"You helped me clean this place, remember?"

"That's true."

"Thanks for all the help, Hilde. Duo's in for a surprise when he gets back."

No sooner than I said that I heard the front door open and the sound of footsteps on the carpeted floor.

"Honey, I'm home!"

I face-palmed myself and quietly groaned when I heard him say that while Hilde was trying hard not to laugh at me.

"I think he means you." She whispered to me.

"You think?" I got up from my chair and started making my way to the living room. "We're not even married." I said the last part very quietly.

I walked into the living room to find Duo standing at the door. He grinned when he saw me before making his way over to me in a few strides and pulling me into a hug. I felt my face heat up since I wasn't expecting him to do that.

"Hi, honey."

"Duo, we're not married." I told him.

"What was that?" He asked, sounding as if he didn't hear me or was either ignoring what I said.

I mentally face-palmed.

"Nothing…'dear'." The word seemed foreign to me and it felt really weird calling him that. This felt so awkward. I sighed. Just play along for now. "How was work?"

"Great! Turns out Ed didn't really mind me being gone as long as I was."

"Who's Ed?"

"He's my boss."

"Usually a person would get fired if they missed so many shifts."

"That may be, but I'm quite the hard worker when it comes to my job and Ed knows it, too." I heard him sniffing the air. "Something smells good."

"That would be dinner." I stated "Hilde's also hear to join us as well."

"Hey, Hilde! She give you any trouble?"

"Duo!"

"No, she didn't. Although she was glaring daggers at a certain vampire romance novel." Hilde said.

"Hilde!" I turned to her as she stood near the entrance to the kitchen.

"Oh, was she now?" Duo gazed down at me before lightly tapping my nose with his index finger. "Where you glaring daggers at the Twilight novel?"

"I have every reason to! I can't believe that one of the things I hate the most exists even in this dimension."

"Rhea!" Both Duo and Hilde said in sync.

My face heated up in embarrassment and I lowered my gaze so I didn't have to see the look on their faces. An awkward silence followed and it felt really uncomfortable to me. Speaking about uncomfortable…

"Could you let me go?" I asked.

"Now why would I do that?" He answered with a question.

"Because…I can't breathe…?" I that was the only excuse I could come with.

"Really? I knew I was attractive but I didn't think I affect you _that_ much!"

I sighed. I should've seen that coming.

"Because I love you." I tried.

"Okay!"

With that he let me go. What. The. Hell? He let me go just like that?

"That was it?"

"Yeah. What, you thought it'd require more persuasion on your part?"

"That just seemed a little too easy. What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing. Although if you really wanna know you'll just have to wait until tonight."

I started to become suspicious and I glanced at Hilde to see her giving off a knowing smirk.

"Conspiracy…!" I said.

"Call it what you want. You'll find out eventually. Now I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"

'_No surprise…_' I thought.

We all went into the kitchen and I saw Duo's eyes brighten up when he saw the food on the table.

"I was thinking of steak earlier. Are you two mind readers or something?"

"No, you're just predictable."

"It all looks so good. My compliments to the chef."

"That would be Rhea." Hilde stated.

We all sat down at the table and Duo eagerly picked up his fork and was about to eat his food when he made a face.

"Spinach?" He complained. "Not spinach!"

"What? But I thought you said you weren't picky about what you eat!"

"Just kidding!" His face quickly changed into a grin.

Hilde laughed.

"I can't believe you thought he was serious!"

I sighed.

"You know what they say: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

"Don't worry. You'll catch on quickly."

After dinner Hilde helped me do the dishes before she left (not without saying something that made me assume there would be another outing sometime in the future). At the moment I was wondering where Duo was and it was strangely quiet. As in I heard nothing but my own breathing! I looked around the kitchen warily to make sure. Nothing. I went back to starting up the dishwasher when suddenly I was glomped from behind and I yelped in surprise. My head whipped around and I saw Duo behind me grinning.

"Duo! I told you not to do that!" I said.

"If you're this easy to scare then I'm going to have fun!" Duo said.

"How do you even do that? I can't even hear you sneaking up behind me!"

"Sorry, babe, but that's a trade secret. I'll be taking that information with me to my grave. That is if I die, but I can't since I'm the God of Death."

So that was it. He was good at stealth because he did it and practiced a lot to make him as silent as Death. Or maybe he was the God of Death.

'_Don't be stupid! He's not really the God of Death. He only told himself that so much that he believes it._' I thought.

But what if he really was the God of Death? If that were so then this whole time I've been flirting with Death, but it's more like Death was flirting with me.

"Having fun in la-la land?"

"Huh?" I shook my head to clear it. "La-la land?"

"Yep! Apparently you were having fun since you had a dazed look on your face." He smirked. "And what was my fair maiden thinking about?"

"Let me go and I'll tell you." I bargained.

"Nope! You tell me and then I'll let you go."

I sighed. Of course he wasn't going to make this easy. Make something up!

"I was thinking about getting ready for bed. Happy?"

Duo grinned when I told him that.

"Oh, so I get to see you in your new Pjs."

"Can you let me go now?"

"Okay." He let go of me and I turned around to face him, noticing that he was already wearing his Pjs. "What do you say about watching a bit of TV before bed?"

"Sounds okay to me."

I started making my way to the closet where I hid my bags. Duo gave off a confused sound and I heard him following me.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To get my stuff."

"From the closet?"

"Yeah! Don't look!" I watched him warily.

"Why? Are you hiding something?"

I nodded my head.

"What are you hiding?"

"Certain products that I don't want you to see."

"Like…?"

"Would you stop asking questions?" I started getting irritated.

"Not until I get answers." He grinned.

I watched him cautiously as he stood in place looking at me before his gaze wandered over to the closet behind me. Suddenly he rushed over to the closet door and I frantically tried to stop him from getting to it but I wasn't fast enough and he flung the door open.

"Jack pot!"

"Duo, no!"

He started searching through the bags, looking at everything and I blushed. Then he froze and I wondered why but then my face heated up a bit more when he pulled out the pads. How embarrassing… Duo got up slowly and I saw that his face was red when he came out.

"I'll just wait for you on the couch…" He said without looking at me.

"Okay…"

I went into the closet and turned on the light before closing the door behind me. I found the back with my Pjs (which was a T-shirt and sweatpants) and changed into them before coming out to see that Duo was watching TV since it was on. I walked around t the front of the couch before sitting down next to him. Duo wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him so that I ended up leaning against his side. I got myself comfortable and relaxed as I felt the warmth from his body. I took a deep breath and let it out, my nose picking up his faint scent. That was when I noticed what was on and was surprised to see Family Guy and I recognized the episode as the one where Lois saved Stewie's teddy bear, Rupert, from a dog and he ends up loving her. And then the most memorable part came on where Lois was so tired that she was trying to get some rest but Stewie was calling her.

"Mum! Mum! Mum! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Ma ma! Ma ma! Ma ma! Ma! Ma! Ma!" And then Stewie repeated the whole thing until Lois snapped.

"I actually did that once to my Mom." I said.

"Really? What happened?" Duo asked.

"I ended up not being able to hear out of one ear when she yelled into it. It was still recovering the next day."

Duo laughed.

"I didn't think you were one to do that! If I did that to someone like Heero I'd end up getting to know his gun personally."

"Now I can see you doing that."

It was quiet for a bit until the commercials came on.

"I'm sorry…about earlier."

I turned to Duo to see that he was looking away from me. I wrapped my arms around him and knew I surprised him when I did this.

"It's okay." I told him. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Gotcha. Didn't think it'd be this easy to get forgiveness from my Tenshi."

"It won't always be this easy. It'll depend on what you do that makes it difficult or not."

"Heh. I like a good challenge."

As we continued watching Family Guy I started to feel my eyes droop close and the fact that I was comfortable leaning against Duo and him keeping me warm didn't help me stay awake.

_Click._

Everything went quiet except for the sound of breathing. There was movement next to me before warm arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders and underneath my legs. I felt myself being lifted up and the faint sound of feet walking as I was being carried somewhere. The movement stopped and I was lowered onto a soft surface before being covered by a blanket. Some time passed and I felt the surface I laid on move before settling down. The warm arms wrapped around my waist and I was pulled close to a warm form that held me close. A kiss was placed on my forehead.

"Good night, Rhea."

* * *

ATE: And this is the end of chap 8. Man, I'm starting to run out of ideas for this story. Please remember to review, and if anyone has any ideas to suggest for any future chaps and whatnot, please write them in your reviews and I'll give you credit. Thank you.


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